Arizona
by fitzpleasures
Summary: Every Time Connect 3 Goes On Tour, There's Always Something Special About Arizona That Shane Can't Resist. Smitchie.
1. Back In Town

**Summary: Every Time Connect 3 Goes On Tour, There's Always Something Special About Arizona That Shane Can't Resist.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter One – Back In Town**

Shane Gray of world famous all brother band Connect Three, tossed and turned in his bunk on the tour bus he shared with he and his brothers. They had just played a show in Denver, Colorado and usually, he would be sleeping like a baby but for some reason, he couldn't force his eyes shut.

"UGH!" he grunted a little louder than he meant. He peered his head over to the bunk perpendicular from him to see his older brother Jason still sound asleep. He leaned down to check to see if Nate, his younger brother, was sleep as well.

"Looking for something?" Nate greeted Shane, obviously still as awake as him. Shane hopped out of the bunk and walked into the closed off TV area of the bus. Nate jumped out of bed as well and followed.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one who's not sleepy." Shane said taking a seat on the beanbag that laid across the floor.

"Oh no, you are. I am actually extremely sleepy but every time I shut my eyes and start to drift off you go and start moving up there." Nate said, flopping down on another beanbag in the room. "Seriously dude, why are you so..._alert_? Usually after shows you're the first one sleep."

Just as Shane was about to answer, the curtain that closed the area off opened and revealed Jason, eating an apple, standing in front of the other two Gray boys.

"Isn't it obvious Nate? The next stop on the tour is Arizona." Jason's revelation made Nate's face light up as he finally understood the cause of Shane's insomnia. "How longs it been? Two years?"

"You are so right, Jason. I can't believe I didn't think of that." Shane glared at the both of them. They always teased him whenever they went on tour and made a stop in the state of Arizona. Shane couldn't be too upset though, the cause of their teasing was all of his fault...

"_I just wanna play my music! Woo!" Nate yelled as the three brothers walked down the street, trying not to be recognized by anyone. Even at one in the morning, there was bound to be at least one of their millions of fans walking the streets of Phoenix, Arizona._

"_Why are we doing this again?" Shane asked Jason referring to the crazy amount of alcohol they had given Nate after their concert to celebrate his 21st birthday._

"_Look, dad, unwisely, did it for me, I did it for you...its only right if we do it for Nate too." Jason said as they walked into a lonely, creepy-looking deserted bar. When they walked in and looked around, they saw it was just as deserted on the inside as it was on the outside. With the exception of a few guys at the bar drinking, and a couple of guys playing pool at the various pool tables, there was nearly no one in the bar._

"_Oh, a juke box!" Nate shouted running over to the very fifty's looking juke box in the corner that was playing some John Mayer song. "This is the best birthday ever!"_

_Jason and Shane laughed at their drunk little brother. The two older boys walked over to the bar and sat on two of the bar stools._

"_Hey guys, what can I get ya?" the bartender, who was a woman, asked them. Jason turned to Shane, who was supposed to order, but was too busy staring at the bartender._

"_Shane...Shane!" Jason yelled getting Shane's attention. _

"_Oh, yeah, um, we'll have two beers..." Shane trailed off. Jason rolled his eyes at his younger brother._

"_Coming right up," she said walking away. When she was out of earshot, Shane turned to Jason, pulling on his sleeve._

"_Was it just me or did it seem like she was flirting with me?" _

"_And what makes you think that?" Jason asked him, removing Shane's hands from his shoulder._

"_Did you see the way she was smiling at me?"_

"_Dude she's a bartender. Isn't it kinda required of her to smile at customers?"_

"_Well yeah but not that much, right?" Just as Jason was about to respond, the bartender came back with their drinks._

"_Here are your beers boys." she said placing the drinks in front of them._

"_Thanks...uh, I'm sorry I don't think I caught your name?" Shane asked with a smile. Jason took a sip of his beer, shaking his head._

_The bartender simply smiled at him and said, "It's Mitchie."_

"Shane!" Nate yelled snatching Shane out of his mini-flashback. "You okay there buddy?"

"Yeah," Shane stood up from the beanbag. "We have a busy day ahead of us. We should probably try to get some sleep."

Shane pushed past his brothers and climbed back into his bunk. Nate looked at Jason who just shrugged and followed Shane's lead.

**\=/**

Shane had slept pretty peacefully that night and so had his brothers. The three were now in a car, on their way to the hotel they'd stay in for the two nights they were in Phoenix. When the car pulled up to the Gold Phoenix Hotel, Shane squirmed in the backseat, closing his eyes trying to shut out the thoughts that started flowing through his mind.

"_You know...even though...I'm...a...rockstar...I've never...done this..." Shane managed to mutter out between kisses. He and his new 'friend' Mitchie were currently laying on a bed in a room at the Gold Phoenix Hotel. They had hit it off at the bar and, with some convincing, had went back to his hotel room._

"_Wait," she moved away from him, halting their make-out session. "You've never had sex?"_

_Shane laughed. "Oh no, I've done that...just never with a chick from a bar."_

"_Oh well, I'm glad I can be your first then." she said with a smile before going back to furiously kissing him._

"Shane," he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Jason who was calling his name from outside of the car. "If you don't get out of the car the driver is going to drive off with you and there'll be no show tomorrow night and thousands of angry fans. Do you want that?"

Shane shrugged and got out of the car. He walked over to his brothers who were standing in front of the hotel and looked across the street. There it was, the bar. Nate must have caught him staring. He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Don't worry, you can stalk bar chick _after_ the show." he joked.

"Ha, very funny." Shane said sarcastically. "But I'll have you know that I have no desire to go back to that bar."

"Sure, whatever you say." Nate said, leaving him staring across the street. Shane shook his head. If he himself wasn't even convinced that he had no desire to go to that bar, it was no wonder Nate didn't believe him.

**\=/**

Shane laid in his hotel bed, tossing and turning again. Luckily, he had a room by himself so he wasn't disturbing Nate or Jason. He reached over to the small dresser next to his bed and grabbed his phone. He checked the time; it was one in the morning.

"Hm, maybe a drink will help put me to sleep." he said to himself getting out of bed and slipping on a hoodie and a pair of his favorite Nikes. He walked out of his hotel room and downstairs to the lobby. It was pretty deserted except for a guy who was asleep at the check-in desk. That was a good thing, though. That means no one would see him leave.

Shane walked outside and looked at the street. It was empty as well. He crossed it and stood in front of the familiar bar for a few minutes before walking inside. It looked just as he left it two years ago. Everything was the same. _Everything_.

He walked up to the bar and sat on one of the stools. The bartender had her back turned fixing a stack of glasses but heard him sit down.

"Give me a second and I'll be right with you,"

Shane stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up. "I can't wait a second. I've been waiting two years."

**\=/**

**Yeah so I know that sucked. I'm so bad with first chapters. LOL Well hopefully, I'll get like 5 reviews and I'll update tomorrow along with my other fic. So, yeah, thanks for reading and please REVIEW! :]**


	2. Two Years Later

**Summary: Every Time Connect 3 Goes On Tour, There's Always Something Special About Arizona That Shane Can't Resist.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Two – Two Years Later...**

"Excuse me?"

The bartender swung around to face Shane. Seeing her face for the first time in two years made his stomach do flips, his mouth dry up and the words he had planned to say disappear from his memory.

"Hey Mitchie," he said with a weak wave and smile. Just judging by her facial expression, she wasn't as happy to see him as he was her.

"Uh, hey." she said with a stunned look on her face. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments. Every so often one of them would make an awkward noise or smile awkwardly. "So, um, you like beer right? I'll go get you one-"

"I didn't come to get a drink. I came to talk." Shane said. Mitchie looked around the bar. There was literally just the two of them there. She sighed and walked around the bar and took a seat on the barstool next to him.

"So, what do you wanna talk about? Music, sports, movies..."

"How about two years ago?" Shane interrupted. Mitchie shrugged and began playing with the charm bracelet she was wearing on her left wrist. Shane also noticed she was sporting a ring on that hand.

"What is there to talk about? What happened, happened. I went back to serving drinks and you went back to being a big rockstar." Shane shook his head and stood up.

"You know, you're right. It was stupid of me to come here. I'm sorry-" he was stopped by her hand grabbing his arm and pulling him back toward the barstool.

"Wait, I'm sorry if that sounded...bitchy or whatever its just-"

"Hey, no need to explain." Shane assured her sitting back on the barstool. Again, they sat in silence before Mitchie spoke up.

"So why are you in town again?" she asked.

"We have a concert tomorrow. We decided to come a day early, though. I mean, we love this state, this city." he said. "But I didn't come here to talk about me, I came to see what you've been up to."

Mitchie hesitated before answering, shifting uncomfortably on her barstool. "Besides still working in this place, nothing really."

"Why do you work here anyway? I'm sure you have other talents, right?" Shane asked. Mitchie pushed some hair behind her ear and shrugged.

"When I was younger I always wanted to be a musician but-" she stopped seeing the huge grin on Shane's face. "Okay, I am not telling you this story."

"Oh come on, why not?" he asked with a smile.

"I refuse to share all my deep, dark secrets with someone I barely recognize with clothes on." she joked. Shane shrugged. She was kind of right. The last time they talked they were both pretty buzzed and ended up sleeping together. That's not exactly getting to know a person.

"Well, hey, the concert is tomorrow. Why don't you swing by and we can get to know each other properly." Shane saw the look on her face. At least she was considering it instead of immediately shooting it down.

"That sounds really cool and all but-"

"Oh no, there's a 'but'," he said horrified.

"Why should we get to know each other if you're just going to leave, just like you did before." Shane was stumped. She was right. Why even try to talk to her more and risk actually liking her just to have to leave her to go to the next stop on the tour? But that's what his head was telling him, his heart was telling him something different...

"Why not? I don't know about you but I've thought about that night since I left two years ago. I need to know that I'm not a complete douche bag who just slept with you without actually getting to know who you were." he said with a laugh which prompted a smile from her. "I'm not asking for much, just for you to come and hang out for an hour or two. How bad could it be?"

Mitchie thought about it again. This was Shane Gray we were talking about. He was an international rockstar and he was inviting her, a small town bartender, to hang out with him and his brothers. She could think of about a billion girls who would kill to be in her position. And it wasn't like she didn't want to say yes but...Wait, what was she so afraid of again? Who cares if she goes and hangs out with him? Its not like she's going to develop feelings for him or anything. Why did she think she could possibly, though?

"Hey, earth to Mitchie," Shane said waving his hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her dazed state and looked at him embarrassingly.

"Sorry," she said blushing.

"It's fine," he said flashing that smile that just made her blush more. "So, you coming or what?"

With a final moment of hesitation she answered. "Sure."

**\=/**

Mitchie entered her loft as quietly as she could. She peeked around the empty living room and sighed with relief. She had closed the bar after Shane left and was happy to be at home. She planned on getting some sleep before tomorrow.

She took off her coat and threw it along with her purse on the couch. She walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water when the lights flickered on without her turning them on. She winced and turned around toward the direction of the light switch.

"Hi honey." she greeted her fiancee, Ken. He stood in front of her, his six-foot five creating a shadow over her. He had his arms folded over his chest and an unpleasant look on his face but, what else was new?

"Its 2:30am." he said flatly. Mitchie shrugged. Was she supposed to be impressed that he could tell time? "I thought we agreed that you could keep working at this dumb little bar if you came home on time."

"Sorry but a customer walked in at 1am, when I was closing, and I couldn't just turn her away." she said making sure to let him think that Shane wasn't really Shane, but a female customer. She didn't feel like hearing his reaction if she told him the truth.

"You couldn't or you didn't want to? Look, you're getting married to a _very_ well off lawyer. I don't see why you insist on working at that dump. You know if you quit I could still give you and Hayley everything you need."

"Maybe I want a little independence. Maybe I want to be able to say that I make my own money. Maybe-"

"Maybe you're crazy." Mitchie rolled her eyes. She didn't have the strength nor the patience to deal with him. She grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and walked past him toward their bedroom, stopping at the room right before it. She cracked open the closed door and look inside. She smiled at her sleeping daughter. She was still getting use to the thought of being a mom.

"I'm working late tomorrow," Ken said sneaking up behind Mitchie. She jumped, quietly shutting the door and walking into their bedroom. Ken followed, shutting the door behind him. Mitchie sat on the bed, getting ready to go to sleep.

"What were you saying?" she asked him.

"I said I'm working late tomorrow. You're gonna have to get someone to cover for you tomorrow." Mitchie looked up at him.

"I have plans tomorrow."

"Cancel them." he said nonchalantly. "This is a really important case I'm working on and I can't do it while babysitting Hayley."

"Babysitting? Funny, I thought it was called parenting." she snapped at him.

"I'm not going to have this conversation with you. I just need you to stay home tomorrow, okay? Okay. Conversation over. Go to bed." Ken said flicking the lights off and getting into bed. It was times like these Mitchie questioned how she could love someone like him. So much for hanging out with Shane. Those plans were completely ruined now.

**\=/**

**Kay, there's the chapter! I wanted to give you some background info on Mitchie's life now. Of course, you'll learn more about it later and learn about Shane's life as well so, yeah. :P**

**BTW, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update but between like, 2 tropical storms, tons of homework and going to the JoBro/Demi concert, I was way too busy to write. Sorry! I'll try to get better about it! :( And I'll TRY to update this and my other fic tomorrow so, yeah. :P**

**Please review and thanks for reading! :)**


	3. Deja Vu

_**PENNAME CHANGE! I used to be xMaple Leafx!**_

**Summary: Every Time Connect 3 Goes On Tour, There's Always Something Special About Arizona That Shane Can't Resist.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Three – Deja Vu**

"...And then he just went to sleep." Mitchie sat on her couch talking to her best friend Caitlyn.

"Wow. I will never understand why you insist on staying with that douchebag." Caitlyn said bluntly.

"He's a nice guy when he wants to be," Mitchie said defending her fiancee.

"And does he ever want to be?" Mitchie couldn't help but laugh. Ever since she started dating Ken, Caitlyn was always vocal about how much she didn't like him.

"Look, that's beside the point. The point is that now I have to cancel the plans I made for later tonight." Mitchie explained.

"Oh, do you need someone to cover your shift at the bar? Because I totally could do it for you, its no problem."

"No, my plans were for _after_ my shift."

Caitlyn's face contorted into a confused smirk. "Mind telling me what these 'plans' are? They sound...sneaky. I like that."

Mitchie shook her head at her friend. "I can't tell you because if I tell you you'll overreact and make a big deal out of something that's not even that major."

"Promise I won't," Caitlyn held out her pinky to Mitchie. She latched her pinky onto her friend's with a goofy smile. Caitlyn had a way of making the serious of situations fun.

"Last night I ran into Shane." Mitchie said nonchalantly. Caitlyn's eye widened and a squeal escaped from her lips.

"You know I knew Connect Three was in town but I wasn't gonna bring it up! But anyway, how was it? Did he kiss you? Did you like it? Did he confess his love for you?" Caitlyn asked all in one breath.

"Uh, no." Mitchie said flatly. "He wanted me to hang out backstage at the show tonight. I was actually going to go but Ken kinda ruined that for me."

"Listen to Aunt Caitlyn, I got your back. I'll watch Hayley tonight, okay?" Caitlyn told her.

"Cait, I can't ask you to watch Hayley. I know you've got some dancing stuff to work on-"

"I can always choreograph stuff later. You only get one chance to talk to your baby's daddy." Mitchie squirmed on the couch. It was still weird to think of Shane as the father of her daughter. "Which, you should probably tell him..."

"Oh yeah, that'd be a wonderful idea, 'Hey Shane, remember how we slept together two years ago, yeah well we've got a daughter. Good luck with the rest of your tour!'," Mitchie said sarcastically.

"Well you've got to tell him sometime! I mean, Hayley's a spitting image of Shane."

"Oh God, isn't she? I was hoping she'd look like me so I wouldn't have to see his face everyday but..." Mitchie stopped as Hayley came running in and jumped into her lap. "She's beautiful nonetheless."

Caitlyn smiled at the two of them. "So it's settled? I'll watch Hayley and you can go spend time with 'you-know-who'."

Mitchie nodded. She owed it to herself to show up at the concert. She needed some closure when it came to Shane. Even though it was just a one night stand, she sometimes wondered if there was more than just a physical attraction between them. Maybe she could find out later tonight.

**\=/**

"...Thank you Phoenix! We love you guys!" Shane yelled before he and his brothers ran off stage. They had just finished their concert and were backstage rubbing the sweat off their faces with towels which were being handed to them, along with water bottles, at them from stagehands.

"Oh man, that was a good show." Nate said after taking a large gulp of his water.

"Yeah, nice job with the guitar solo tonight. You really killed it." Shane complemented his brother. While the boys were talking, their bodyguard, Rob, walked up to Shane.

"Shane, you have a guest waiting for you in your dressing room." he informed Shane. The middle brother shrugged and jogged to his dressing room. He slowly opened the door and saw his guest sitting on the small couch in the room.

"Hey you," he greeted with a smile.

"Hey, uh, Rob told me I could wait here. I hope its not a problem." Mitchie said standing up from the couch.

"Oh yeah, its no problem. Sit, sit." He said walking into the room, shutting the door behind him. "You look great by the way."

"Really? I didn't know whether to wear a dress or whatever so I just settled on some jeans. I hope its not to..._relaxed_." she said looking over her outfit which consisted of black jeans, a white v-neck and silver heels.

"Are you kidding me? You look amazing. We'll just be hanging out at a little club in downtown Phoenix. Nothing too fancy." he said before taking a sip of his water.

Mitchie was about to ask how the show went when Shane pulled his sweaty shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. He turned to her and noticed the uncomfortable look on her face. He smiled and blushed a little.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah I just wasn't expecting you to dress in front of me." she said, a smile creeping up on her face.

"Well I just thought since we've both seen each other naked it wouldn't be a big deal but I can change in Nate's dressing room if you want-"

"No, no. This is your dressing room." she said standing up, walking toward the door. "Uh, I'll just wait outside for you, okay?"

"Alright..." Shane said watching her as she walked out of the room. "So cute..." He commented to himself.

Mitchie stood outside in the hallway of the backstage area of the venue, clicking her heels on the ground, when their bodyguard, Rob, walked by. He walked by her before backpedaling and stopping in front of her.

"Are you Mitchie?" he asked. She nodded slowly. "Do you know how famous you are?"

"Excuse me?" she asked confused.

"All of us, the backstage crew, we all know who you are. There isn't a day that goes by where Shane _isn't_ talking about you. You must be really special to him." he said before walking away. Just as she was about to follow him and ask more questions, Shane emerged out of his dressing room. He was wearing dark jeans, a red plaid flannel shirt and a beanie on his head.

"Ready to head out?" he asked. He noticed Rob walking away from her direction. "Oh no did Rob talk to you. Look, whatever he said-"

"He didn't say anything to me. He just walked right on by." she lied. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good. Well, let's go." He said with a smile. She smiled back and the two made their way out of the arena.

**\=/**

Mitchie and Shane were both laughing and joking as they drove back to the arena from the nightclub they came from.

"I did not know you have moves like that, Mitchie. You seriously impressed me on the dance floor." Shane said laughing.

"Me? I've never seen anyone execute the robot as perfectly as you did." Mitchie said teasingly.

"Oh God, I haven't had that much fun in a long time. I'm really glad you decided to come tonight." he said as he pulled into the arena parking lot. He put his car in park and turned it off. He leaned his head on the back of the headrest and turned to look at Mitchie, who was still smiling.

"I'm glad I decided to come, too. I was a little apprehensive at first. I mean, last time we got together..." she trailed off. He chuckled embarrassingly.

"Yeah, about that. Look, I'm sorry. I'm not one of those rockstars who hook up with girls in every city. I really feel bad about it. If I could take it back, I would. I would have taken you out on a proper date." Mitchie looked at him confused.

"So, wait, I wasn't just some random bar chick you wanted to sleep with?" she asked.

He shook his head. "When I saw you, I thought you were so..._gorgeous_. Then when you asked if we wanted drinks, I thought your voice was so cute. And when we started talking, you know, before we got drunk and hooked up, I thought you were really cool to talk to. There was more than a physical attraction...if that's what you're wondering."

"Well, duh. How could you have been physically attracted to me. If I recall correctly, I had spilt beer on my shirt and I smelled like stale beer nuts." she said jokingly.

"You looked good to me. Its a nice change from the fake, overly perfect chicks I'm used to in L.A." he said. There was a moment of silence before he spoke up. "Hey, if you're not busy for the rest of the night, you could come chill in my hotel room."

Mitchie's smiled faded and she shook her head. "I should've known..."

"What?" Shane asked confused. She opened her door and left his car and began walking toward hers, which was some ways away from where he parked. He jumped out of the car and followed her. "Where are you going?"

"Home. You know, for a second there, I actually believed you." She said, stomping her heels against the concrete.

"Look I didn't mean it like that. I meant to chill in my hotel room to talk more!" he pleaded, understanding what she was talking about.

"Yeah, well," she stopped suddenly and turned to him. He stopped a foot away from her. "Why can't we just keep talking in your car, huh? What's wrong with that?"

"Maybe I think talking in a car all night isn't..._fun_?" he answered unsurely.

"Oh, fun, huh? What's your idea of fun? Getting me drunk and having a repeat of two years ago?" she yelled defensively.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I offended you. I shouldn't have said that. If you want to sit in my car and talk until the sun comes up, that's fine. Just...just don't be mad at me." Shane said holding his hands up in defense. Mitchie couldn't keep the 'angry' look on her face for long.

"I didn't mean to snap at you its just-"

"Hey, I get it. You don't have to explain yourself." Shane said with a smile which she returned. He took a step closer to her and pushed some of the hair that had found its way in her face behind her ear. She avoided eye contact with him. Everything was starting to feel like deja vu.

"Shane..." she said quietly, finally locking her eyes with his. He smiled one more time before leaning down and placing his lips on hers. Mitchie pulled away and took a step away from him.

"What's wrong? Is it my breath?" Shane said checking his breath.

"No, you're...perfect." Mitchie said with a giggle. "Its just...I can't...we can't..."

"You know, you're right. Again, I'm sorry." Shane said rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I'll let you go home. But, I enjoyed hanging out with you tonight."

"I enjoyed it too. Hey, maybe I'll visit L.A. And we'll see each other again."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Well, goodnight Shane." she said before walking to her car.

"Goodnight, Mitchie." he called out to her. He watched her get in her car and drive off, waving to her as she left the parking lot. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked back to his car. Just as he was approaching his car, his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw that it was Nate.

"_Hey, bro. How's your date going? Am I interrupting?"_

"Actually, I'm on my way back to the hotel now."

"_...With Mitchie?"_

"Nope, I'm all alone."

"_Oh. Just you and your hand tonight?"_

"Very funny but, no."

"_Hey, sometimes our expectations don't match up with reality. Nothing you can do about that."_

Shane smiled to himself. Sometimes Nate gave him the best ideas. "Actually young Nathaniel, there _is_ something you can do about that. I'll see you in like 20 minutes."

Shane hung up his phone and hopped in his car. He began to furiously dial numbers. He was going to make his expectations his reality.

**\=/**

**OMG! After 19237540937093 years, I finally updated! Just kidding, it's been like a month. But that's too long! I'm so sorry it took so long. I hope you guys still wanna read this fic! I'll update faster now because school has calmed down! So, love you guys! Hope you review this and...yeah! Thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Afternoon at Ikea

**Summary: Every Time Connect 3 Goes On Tour, There's Always Something Special About Arizona That Shane Can't Resist.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Four – Afternoon at Ikea**

"Ahhhh, this has a nice cozy feel to it, eh?" Shane asked Nate. The two brothers were standing in Shane's new apartment. Nate looked around at the place.

The night he came back from his 'date' with Mitchie, he had decided that he couldn't stand by and wait for things to happen, he had to make them happen. So he and Nate went out and bought the first small little cozy loft in downtown Phoenix they could find. Both Jason and Nate had tried talking Shane out of it but when he had his mind set on something, there was no changing it. They decided to go on tour without Shane, telling the fans he had 'fallen ill'. He'd be in Arizona, away from the paparazzi so they were sure that no one would really find out the truth.

"I guess it's alright." He turned and grabbed Shane by the shoulders. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, what if she doesn't like you like you think she does?"

Shane shrugged off his brother's grip. "She does. I know it. Look, Jason's waiting for you in the tour bus. You two go and rock the rest of the country without me, kay? I'll be fine, don't worry your curly little head!"

Nate took one last look at his brother before giving him a smile and turning to leave. Before he shut the door behind him, he turned to Shane one last time.

"You know, for your sake, I really hope all this works out for you." Shane smiled at his younger brother before he left the apartment.

Now that Shane was all alone, he kind of didn't know what to do. He hadn't furnish the place yet. All that was in there was a couple of chairs and all of Shane's stuff he had brought off the tour bus.

"I need to do some furniture shopping." he said to himself. "But I should probably bring along someone who knows something about home décor..."

He pulled out his cellphone and dialed the operator.

"Yes, operator? Can you connect me to Mitchie Torres please?" Shane waited a few seconds before hearing a click on the other line.

"_Hello?"_

"Mitchie! Hey, its Shane,"

"_Shane? How'd you get my number?"_

"Listen, I'm still in town. Would you mind meeting me at Ikea in like, 20 minutes? You forgot something in my car last night and I just want to give it back to you before I leave."

"_Oh, um, okay...I guess. I'll see you there."_

"Alright. Bye Mitchie." Shane hung up his phone and did a little victory dance. Sure, he lied but you have to tell a lie every one in a while to get what you want.

\=/

Shane stood in front of Ikea leaning on a giant shopping cart. He checked his watch. It had been at least 35 minutes. Just as he was starting to worry, he spotted Mitchie walking toward him. He waved at her, immediately regretting it. _Oh gosh, she's gonna think I'm a huge dork... _he thought to himself.

"Hey Mitch!" He greeted her. He looked down to her right. There was a little girl holding on to her hand. He bent down to get eye level with the little girl. "And who is this little cutie?"

"That's not important. So where's my stuff?" Mitchie asked. Shane stood back up and grabbed her hand with his right hand and pushed the shopping cart into the giant furniture store. "Shane, what are you doing?"

"Look, I had to lie to get you here. I really need you to help me shop for furniture. I just got a loft here and-"

Mitchie stopped causing Shane to stop as well. "Wait, you're like..._living_ here? What about your tour and your fans?"

"I found something more important then them." He said smiling at her. Shane looked down again at the little girl and playfully hit himself in the forehead. "Gosh, I am such an idiot. I forgot to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Shane."

The little girl stared at his hand, which was being extended to her. She smiled at him and grabbed his hand with both of her's and shook it. "My name is Hayley and I'm two!"

"Whoa, two? You're almost my age!" Shane said dramatically.

"How old are you?" the little girl asked quizzically.

"I'm four but I'm kinda big for my age." That sent the little girl into a giggling fit. Mitchie couldn't help but smile. Somehow, she felt like this is how it was supposed to be. Her, Hayley and Shane. But the reality was, it wasn't...and she had to realize that.

"So, now that I've effectively charmed your small guest, will you help me shop for furniture?" Mitchie playfully rolled her eyes at him and nodded her head. "Sweet! Let's go check out coffee tables!"

**\=/**

"Shane, I think you should get this one!" Hayley yelled at Shane, referring to the huge bed she was jumping up and down on. The three were standing in a display room searching for a bed for Shane.

"Hayley, don't jump on that-" Shane grabbed Mitchie and pulled her away from Hayley and onto the small couch that was also in the display room.

"Shh, let her have fun." he said smiling while she glared at him.

"What if she falls? What if she ruins the display?" Mitchie asked Shane.

"What if she doesn't?" He retorted. She rolled her eyes at him and folded her arms over her chest.

"So what do you think of this couch?" he asked her.

"It's okay..." she said.

"Okay? Just okay? Mitchie, this couch is red. How many people do you know that own red couches?" he shouted at her excitedly. She glared at him again.

"Look, can you just pick a couch and a bed so we can leave? This isn't exactly how I planned on spending my afternoon. Especially after last night..."

Shane shifted on the couch and scooted closer to her. "Oh yeah, how was last night? You kinda left in a hurry so I wasn't sure..."

"I left in a hurry because I kissed you when I shouldn't have."

"Ah ha! You just admitted you kissed me!" She scoffed at him and shook her head.

"Hayley," he turned to the little girl who was still jumping on the bed. "What do you think of this couch?"

"I like it Shane! Its red!" Shane turned to Mitchie and gave her the, "See-It-Is-Cool" look. "How do you like it mommy?"

"Mommy?" Shane asked turning to Mitchie. During the whole hour and a half they've been shopping, Hayley had managed not to call Mitchie mommy. She was hoping she wouldn't until they got home, or at least in their car but obviously that didn't happen.

Mitchie stood up, walked over to Hayley and grabbed her off the bed. "Come on Hayley, time to go."

"Mitchie, wait," Shane stood up, abandoning his basket full of items to run after the two girls. He finally caught up with them outside, at their car. Mitchie had already strapped Hayley in the backseat and was about to get in the driver's seat when Shane closed the door, leaving his arm up to block her in.

"Shane, move." She demanded.

"Not until you tell me why you failed to mention that you had a kid." He said, serious.

"Because..." she said softly.

"Because what?" He asked. Mitchie stayed silent, staring at the ground. "Because what Mitchie? Answer me!"

Mitchie had never heard Shane yell, let alone yell at her.

"Because I was afraid if I told you you'd think..." Mitchie stopped, letting her words drift off.

"That she was..._mine_?" Shane asked softly. He looked at the way Mitchie was avoiding eye contact with him. He let his hands down and he stepped back. He leaned against the car that was next to Mitchie's and looked at Hayley through the window of the backseat. "She is mine, isn't she?"

Mitchie finally looked him in the eyes before getting into her car and driving away. As far as Shane was concerned, he just got his answer.

**\=/**

**So I hope you guys liked that chapter! I'm on Christmas break so I'll be updating a lot more frequently. Don't forget to leave me a nice little review! **

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	5. Talking It Out

**Summary: Every Time Connect 3 Goes On Tour, There's Always Something Special About Arizona That Shane Can't Resist.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Five – Talking It Out**

Shane sat in his living room, on his red couch, tapping his foot on the hardwood floor. It had been two days since the whole situation with Mitchie and he hadn't really been himself since. He had a lot on his mind, considering he just found out he has a daughter. He didn't know what to do next. He usually relied on Nate's wisdom in situations like this but now that he was alone, he had to depend on his own judgement. He didn't know if it was appropriate to call her, but it was worth a shot.

He stood up from the couch and went into his bedroom to grab his cellphone. He dialed Mitchie's number, which he had saved from the last time he called. With every ring that rang in his ear, he got more worried that she wouldn't answer.

"_Hey, you've reached Mitchie. Obviously I'm not near my cell otherwise I would have answered! Leave a message and I'll get back to you when I can!"_

Shane smiled at her answering machine message before getting serious once he heard the beep.

"Oh, um, hey Mitchie it's me, Shane. Look, I just wanted to call to see if we could maybe meet up and talk about what happened a couple days ago? I don't really know the area so if there's some Starbucks around here, maybe we could get coffee or something-" Shane stopped. He realized how stupid he sounded. You don't just call someone to talk about the fact that you have a two year old daughter together. That's the kind of stuff you do in person. "You know what? Forget you ever heard this message. Uh...bye."

Shane hung up his phone and gritted his teeth. Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn't he just be totally relaxed in tough situations like Jason? Why couldn't he make smart choices like Nate? Instead, he was just dumb Shane.

He sat on the edge of his bed, letting his head fall into his hands. He rubbed his face and ran his fingers through his hair. It was then that an idea popped into his head. Maybe he wasn't so dumb after all.

**\=/**

Mitchie walked around her daughter's bedroom, picking up toys and other items off of the floor while the little girl jumped on her bed. Ever since Shane realized that Hayley was his, Mitchie couldn't look at Hayley without seeing Shane's face. Although, she always said she was a spitting image of him.

"Mommy," the little girl stopped jumping on her bed and sat on it's edge.

"Yes, Hayley?" Mitchie answered, turning to the little girl.

"I want to see Shane." Mitchie's heart sank. Hayley had been asking for Shane ever since they drove out of Ikea's parking lot. She felt bad denying her the right to see her real father but as far as she was concerned, Mitchie's fiancee Ken was her father...even if he didn't always act like it.

"Honey, I told you Shane is busy and-"

"But daddy is always busy too but I get to see him! I wanna see Shane!" the little girl was yelling now. Mitchie closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. Sometimes, Hayley asking for him was just too much for her to handle.

"Hayley, please don't yell..." She said through gritted teeth.

"I wanna see Shane! I wanna see Shane! I wanna-"

"Hayley!" It was rare that Mitchie yelled at her daughter but she couldn't take it anymore. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't want Hayley to see her upset so she walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

She ran into her bedroom, also closing it's door behind her, and sat on the edge of her bed, sobbing. She couldn't deal with the guilt she was feeling. Not only was she lying to Hayley by making her believe that Ken was her father but she was also lying to Ken. He believed Hayley was his. He took care of her like she was his own even though at times, Mitchie knew he had his doubts. She also felt guilty for keeping Hayley away from Shane. Mitchie was never too close with her own father so she promised when she had kids, she'd make sure they were close with theirs. Of course, she never planned on having a kid from a famous rockstar.

Without warning, the bedroom door swung open revealing her fiancee standing there, looking at her with an half confused, half annoyed expression. She quickly wiped the streams of tears from her cheeks.

"Why is Hayley in her room pouting and...are you crying?" he asked, walking into the room, throwing his suit jacket across the bed.

"She's probably upset I yelled at her. And I wasn't crying. My contacts were just dry." she lied, standing up, walking into the bathroom.

"Oh. Well, listen, I'm here. If you're not going to work-"

"I'm going to work." Mitchie interrupted him. Seeing as how Ken was a high powered lawyer, Mitchie could never work a day in her life and still get everything she wanted and more but she had to feel like she had _some_ control over her own life. Working at the bar gave her that feeling.

She peered her head out of the bathroom and looked at Ken. "I know you don't like taking off from work but-"

"You're doing a lot of talking when you should be getting ready for work. I didn't leave the office to hear a lecture." he said coldly.

It was times like these Mitchie wondered what happened to the guy she fell in love with. Ken was actually once a sweet guy. He'd take her on all kinds of nice dates and he made her feel special. But the day they moved in together, after he proposed, about four months ago, he changed. He became controlling, he stopped caring about her and Hayley and, worst of all, he had his moments where he'd get a little..._rough_ with her. She wouldn't say she was in an abusive relationship but there were times where he'd lose his temper and she'd end up with a bruise. Fortunately, that didn't happen often so she learned to just shrug it off whenever it did.

Mitchie emerged from the bathroom, a white t-shirt and jeans on, and grabbed her purse from off of the nightstand. Ken, who was changing into more comfortable clothing, looked up at her. She waved bye to him and he just nodded his head and went back to changing. She rolled her eyes as she walked out of their bedroom and into Hayley's room. The little girl was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding one of her stuffed animals.

"Hey honey," Mitchie said kneeling down in front of her. "Are you mad at me?"

The little girl shook her head no, causing her pigtails to flop around. Mitchie smiled and hugged her.

"I'm going to work, okay? If you need anything, you call me or Aunt Caitlyn, alright?" She said before kissing her daughter on the forehead and heading out of her room and to work. The last time she went to work, Shane walked back into her life. She hoped this time she could just serve drinks, drama-free.

**\=/**

"Stop here," Shane told the cab driver. He pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and handed it to the man. "Thanks for the ride."

Shane exited the cab and stared up at the all to familiar sign. He took a deep breath, adjusted the black beanie on his head, shoved his hands in his pockets and went to walk into the building he was standing in front of.

When he opened the door, the familiar smell of stale beer crept up his nostrils, making him furrow his eyebrows. He looked around the bar. It was more packed than he had ever seen it before. There were guys playing pool, guys messing with the jukebox and guys sitting up at the bar. He stood on his tippy toes, trying to see over the men to see who was serving them. He didn't have to look too hard, he heard a familiar voice repeat someone's order. He knew he had found who he was looking for.

"C'mon Shane, you got this," he muttered to himself, walking closer to the bar. He could perform in front of thousands of screaming fans but talking to one girl made him more nervous than he's ever been in his life.

When he walked up to an empty barstool and sat down, he immediately caught Mitchie's eye. She took one look at him and rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm here as a thirsty customer, that's all." he told her. She looked at him skeptically before walking over to stand directly in front of him.

"Well then, what would you like?" she asked in a semi-sarcastic tone.

"Water would be fine." he said with a half-hearted smile.

"Oh my gosh..." she threw the small towel she had in her hand down on the bar counter. "You don't come to a bar for water, okay? You're lying to me. You came to talk about what happened and I'm not going to discuss my personal life while I'm at work-"

"I'm not leaving until we talk." he said sternly.

Mitchie stared at him with an unamused scowl on her face. Her expression softened as she thought about Hayley. She couldn't just kick Shane out. She owed it to Hayley to at least talk to him. "Give me fifteen minutes to clear the place. Then we can talk."

Shane waited until she turned her back to him to smile to himself. He had done it. He had came in with the coolness Jason would have in situations like this. Now he had fifteen minutes to muster up some Nate-like smartness.

**\=/**

Fifteen minutes later, the bar was empty, just as Mitchie said. Shane sat in the same barstool watching her wipe down the counter. He had his hands shoved in his jacket pockets, waiting for her to say something.

"Well, aren't you going to speak? You did come here to talk, right?" Mitchie asked him, still wiping the counter.

"I was waiting for you to speak first. You know, I thought you'd might want to explain why you kept the fact that I had a daughter from me?" he asked. She stopped cleaning and looked up at him.

"How was I supposed to tell you? You were somewhere in Europe when I found out I was pregnant. Would your 'people' really have believed me if I told them I needed to talk to you because I was carrying your kid?" Shane's eyes went from her face to the floor. She was right. Contacting him was nearly impossible and his publicist wouldn't have even allowed the boys to perform in Arizona if he found out Shane had a "baby mama" there.

"What about when I came back that night? Why didn't you tell me then? Why did you have me find out for myself?" he asked.

"If I had it my way, you still wouldn't know." she said harshly. She shook her head and spoke again. "Look, its not that I didn't want you to know but I have a life here Shane, you don't. People around here know me. As far as they're concerned, Ken is Hayley's father."

"Ken? Who's Ken?" Shane asked, standing up to face her.

Mitchie cursed herself. It was bad enough he knew the truth about Hayley. She didn't need him freaking out about Ken. "He's my fiancee."

Shane rubbed his face and turned his back to her. He walked over to the jukebox and rested his fists on top of it. He stood there for a few silent seconds before banging his fists into it, not breaking it, thankfully. He angrily walked back to the bar to face Mitchie, who had a frightened expression on her face.

"I don't know what pisses me off more, the fact that you're engaged or the fact that some other man is raising my child." he yelled.

Mitchie didn't know what to say. She didn't know the right words to say to calm him down. Although, she could understand why he was angry. He must have noticed that she was searching for the right words to say because his angry demeanor had calmed and he had reached over and took her hands in his.

"I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you." he said in a hushed tone.

"Really? You could've fooled me..." she said with a dry chuckle.

"I just..." he let go of her hands and started pacing back and forth. "I've missed two years of my daughter's life. For two years I didn't even know she existed. For two years some other man got to experience her first words, her first steps...everything. I'll never be able to get that back."

Mitchie wiped a tear that was working it's way down her face. For the first time, she actually felt guilty for keeping Shane away from Hayley. For the longest time she thought it was the right thing keeping the two of them separated but now she realized it was a huge mistake. She felt like such an idiot.

"I'm sorry Shane. I wish I could give you all of those moments back because God knows Ken doesn't deserve to have them." She said, her voice cracking. "That hour and a half the three of us spent together, you were more of a father to her than Ken has been to her in her whole life. I mean, he can buy her all the toys in the world but with you...I could tell she was genuinely more happy."

A smile crept on Shane's face before he got serious again. "What about you? How does he treat you?"

"Um," Mitchie stared down at her feet. She wasn't about to let Shane know how Ken treated her. She didn't want him to feel like he need to rescue her or anything.

"Mitchie, he treats you good, right?" he asked her again. She looked up at him. When she saw the concern in his eyes, she couldn't stop herself from blabbing out the truth.

"He used to. Now, he's...changed. He's never around. He acts like being around me and Hayley is a chore. He'd spend a whole day at work if he could-"

"Yet you're still with this guy?" Shane interrupted. "No offense but he sounds like a total douche. If I was with you, I'd always be around, I'd never feel like being around you and Hayley is a chore and I'm a musician, I can talk off work whenever I feel like it."

Mitchie playfully shook her head at him. He was doing it again. He was turning on the charm, trying to reel her in. It had worked when they kissed after his concert but she wouldn't let it work this time.

"Look, are you free tomorrow?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, why?"

"Maybe Hayley and I could meet you for ice cream and head to the park or something? She's been asking to see you ever since Ikea."

A huge grin stretched across Shane's face. "I'd love that. How does noon sound?"

"Noon? That's lunchtime. I'm not giving Hayley ice cream for lunch," Mitchie playfully joked.

"Oh, right. Sorry, not used to this parenting thing." Shane said holding up his hands in defense.

"We'll meet you at Sal's Ice Cream Store at three o'clock." she said.

"Good. That sounds good." he said with another grin.

"But Shane, you have to promise me one thing." she walked from behind the bar to stand in front of him. She looked up at him, making sure to look him in the eye, "Please make sure that you don't make Hayley think you're her dad. I'm not ready for her to know, okay?"

Shane nodded reluctantly. He wished the little girl could know. He _wanted_ her to know. He wanted the whole world to know, really. But he had to respect Mitchie's wants. He felt privileged that she was letting him see Hayley again. He would make sure that he made the most out of their 'date' tomorrow.

**\=/**

**OMG, super long chapter right? Yeah, well, I had a lot to say. Haha. I hope you guys will review faster for this chapter! The faster you review (and possibly the more reviews I get), the faster I'll update! So leave me some thought about what you think is gonna happen in the next chapter or what you were thinking during this chapter!**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	6. Let Down Your Guard

**Summary: Every Time Connect 3 Goes On Tour, There's Always Something Special About Arizona That Shane Can't Resist.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Six – Let Down Your Guard**

Mitchie sat in one of the booths inside of the ice cream shop waiting for Shane to arrive. While Hayley sat across from her waiting quite impatiently for Shane to show up so she could get her ice cream, Mitchie noticed that she had this weird feeling in her stomach. Was it..._butterflies_? No. It couldn't have been. There was no way she was actually _nervous_ about seeing Shane. She was just nervous about how their little play-date would go, that's all. At least, that's what she was trying to make herself believe. She wouldn't admit it but she had actually felt like a teenager getting ready for this date. She had changed outfits about five times before deciding on a nice, Spring-y floral dress. It wasn't so revealing that she'd be embarrassed to wear it around Hayley but it was cute enough to wear she wanted to wear it around Shane.

"Hey guys," Mitchie turned around and saw Shane walking toward them. He was wearing a charcoal colored hoodie, dark jeans and a colorful pair of sneakers. Even with his messy hair and five-o'clock shadow, he was looking pretty darn good.

"Shane!" Hayley jumped out from behind the booth and ran up to him. She stuck her little arms out to give him a hug. He bent down, wrapping his own arms around her little body. He looked over to Mitchie who was trying her best to hide the smile that was trying to find its way onto her face.

"What's up, kiddo? You ready to dig into some ice cream?" he asked her. She nodded excitedly. Shane smiled at her, grabbing her hand and leading her to the giant glass windows that shielded the various buckets of ice cream.

Hayley looked up at Shane, almost silently asking him to pick her up so she could see the different types of ice creams. He hoisted her up on to his shoulders and turned so she could see the tubs of ice cream.

"What kind do you want?" he asked her as the ice cream guy walked up to the two of them.

"The pink one," she said pointing to the strawberry flavored ice cream.

"Uh, we'll have one small cup of strawberry and..." he paused. "What kind of ice cream does mommy like?"

"I always see her eating the brown one." she informed him.

"And one large cone of chocolate, please." Shane said, finishing off his order. He gently placed Hayley back on the ground so he could pay the man. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, taking out a twenty. Once he got his change, he handed the small cup of strawberry ice cream and a spoon to Hayley.

"Look mommy," Hayley said to Mitchie as the two of them made their way back toward her. "I got pink ice cream!"

"That's awesome, hun. You wanna go across the street to the park and eat it on the playground?" Mitchie asked the little girl who nodded in agreement.

Shane, who hadn't said a word to Mitchie, followed the two girls out of the ice cream shop and across the street to a small little park. It had swing sets, different types of playgrounds and lots of benches covering the landscape. Once they reached the park, Hayley took off to one of the kiddie benches and sat down to eat her ice cream. Shane and Mitchie picked a bench where they could watch her and sat down.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Mitchie said referring to the dripping cone in Shane's hand.

He looked down at it. "Well, I was gonna let you have the first lick. I thought we could share it?"

Mitchie thought about it for a second. Sharing an ice cream cone with the same guy that two and a half years ago she slept with? Wasn't that cheating on her fiancee? She looked at Shane, then to the ice cream, then back at Shane. It was just ice cream...

"Sure, why not." she said grabbing the cone out of his hand, licking it so it didn't look so melted. She couldn't help but feel Shane's eyes staring at the side of her face. She looked over to him, a goofy smile on her face. "Is there a problem?"

"You know, if we weren't in the presence of _our_ daughter, this would a much more _interesting_ scene." he said wiggling his bushy eyebrows. "I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I'm pretty jealous of that ice cream cone right now."

She playfully hit him in the chest. "Shut up. You know, you shouldn't be saying stuff like that to me. I'm engaged." she reminded him, handing him the ice cream cone.

"Thanks for the reminder," he said, sadly licking the cone. He looked out to Hayley who had finished her ice cream and was now on one of the slides. He saw how much she looked like him. It was still really weird for him to think that he created – he and Mitchie, created her.

"Did you ever think of me?" Mitchie's voice snapped Shane out of his thoughts. He turned his head to face her, her eyes meeting his.

"Yeah," he looked down at the ground remembering the countless dreams he had about her and the numerous songs he wrote. "A lot actually. I felt silly because I didn't even really know you. I still don't, actually. But even with that I still remembered your name, the way you smelled, what you were wearing...everything. Nate said I was crazy but I just think I felt guilty. I always promised myself I'd never be the kind of rockstar who sleeps with a girl in every city but there was just something about you...I felt bad that I just left you there in the hotel that morning."

Mitchie nodded slowly, trying to comprehend everything he had just said. She knew he had thought about her before, he had told her, but she never knew how often. In some odd way, it was nice knowing that she wasn't just a random hookup, that she actually meant something to him.

"What about you?"

"Huh?" Mitchie's thought were interrupted by Shane's question.

"You ever think about me?" he asked.

_Only every minute since I woke up in the hotel that morning and you weren't there_, she thought. "Yeah, sometimes." she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Shane smiled and laughed. "You're so lying. After I rocked your world, there's no way you didn't think about me every day."

"Do you ever think before you speak?" she asked him, giving him a playful shove.

Before Shane could tell her that he was joking, they both heard a scream and snapped their heads toward the playground. Once Shane saw Hayley on the ground, clutching her knee to her chest, he ran over as fast as he could and knelt down beside her.

"Hayley, are you okay? Did you fall?" he asked her, concerned laced in his voice. Mitchie was standing over the two, letting Shane handle the situation.

"I fell and hurt my knee. It hurts really bad Shane." Hayley told him. She looked at him with her big brown eyes, one's she obviously got from Mitchie, and his heart melted. He scooped her up in his arms and sat her on a nearby bench.

"When I was little, I always hurt myself. I was kind of clumsy. So, my dad always used to bring his friend around whenever I got hurt. In fact," Shane paused, looking around and leaning in closer to the little girl. "I think he's here right now."

"Really?" Hayley said, looking around herself. "Who is he?"

"His name is..." Shane scooped her up once again and started tickling her. "The Tickle Monster! Rawr!"

Mitchie couldn't contain her laughter. Seeing Shane run around the playground, Hayley in his arms giggling like crazy, making monster noises was just too adorable for her. Shane circled the playground a couple of times before putting Hayley down on the ground.

"Feel better?" he asked her. She nodded, a huge smile on her face. Shane glanced up at Mitchie, a devilish smile on his face. "Hayley, do you know who I think needs a visit from The Tickle Monster?"

Mitchie shook her head, catching on to what Shane was about to do. He started taking slow steps toward her, which she counteracted by taking steps _away_ from him. She wagged her finger at him.

"Shane, don't you dare! I am wearing a dress and I refuse to be-" Before she could finish her sentence, Shane ran up to her, tickling her just as he did Hayley. "Shane! Seriously, stop!"

"What? Sorry, I can't hear you. You're laughing too loud!" he said, chasing her around the playground, still tickling.

He took a second to look over to Hayley who was giggling at the sight of her mother seemingly being tickled to death. When Shane tried to give her a thumbs up, he accidentally tripped over a rock, sending he and Mitchie to the ground. He laid on top of her, waiting for her to yell at him to get off but all she did was laugh.

"Oh my gosh Shane, why would you do that? I'm like, extremely ticklish." she informed him through her own giggling.

"Sorry, I didn't know that about you." he said, laughing himself.

"Well now you do," she said, calming down after her giggle fit. She stared up at Shane, who was still on top of her. He smiled down at her and reached up to move a lock of her hair out of her face.

"Mitchie Torres is that you?" The two of them turned their heads to see a woman dressed in business attire, holding on to a little boy who looked to be about Hayley's age, staring at them.

"Oh, Caroline, hi." Mitchie greeted the woman. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said, her eyes squinting at Shane. He looked back at the woman and then down at Mitchie.

"I should probably get off of you..." his words trailed off as he stood up, helping Mitchie stand as well. The two of them brushed themselves off as Caroline walked up to them.

"To answer your question Mitchie, I decided to take the day off to take Tony to the park." she looked Shane up and down, a look of disgust on her face. "And who is the guy that was mounting you?"

"This is Shane. He's a friend of mine." Mitchie said introducing him. Caroline nodded with this fake, 'I-Don't-Believe-You' look on her face. Now that he was closer, Shane could see that she was considerably older than Mitchie, maybe in her mid 30's?

"Friend, huh? Interesting..." she trailed off, still eyeing Shane. "Well I can see that you and your _friend_ were busy so I'll see you later. It was nice meeting you Sean."

"Its Shane!" he yelled out as she and the small boy left the playground. When she was out of earshot, Shane turned to Mitchie. "Okay who is she and why is she such a frigid bitch?"

Mitchie laughed. "That's Caroline. She works with Ken. And she's a frigid bitch because her husband is sleeping with her younger sister. At least, that's what I've been told."

Shane shook his head. "Can't say I blame the guy. Who would want to sleep with _that_?"

While the two of them walked back to the bench, Mitchie messed around with the ends of her dress, thinking about what she was about to say. When they sat down, she turned to him and opened her mouth but nothing came out. He was too busy looking at Hayley to notice, though. She tried to speak to him again, and once again, nothing came out. Why was this so hard for her?

"I have this friend, Caitlyn," she started speaking causing him to look away from Hayley and at her. "I know she'd be willing to watch Hayley if you maybe wanted to hang out some more? You know, just the two of us?"

Shane looked at her, shocked. _Damn_, she thought.

"You know what, you're probably busy. I shouldn't have asked-"

"No, no," Shane stopped her, a smirk on his lips. "I do want to hang out, trust me. I was just shocked you asked. We could go grab a bite to eat, yeah?"

Mitchie smiled and nodded. _That wasn't so hard_, she thought to herself. Now she and Shane would get a chance to talk more about Hayley...and maybe about them.

**\=/**

Shane and Mitchie stood at the maitre'd post, waiting for the hostess. They had dropped Hayley off at Caitlyn's place and headed to an Applebees that was near Shane's loft. The car ride had been awkwardly silent. Usually there would be some kind of small talk but Shane was getting this..._nervous_ vibe from Mitchie. It was almost like she was about to tell him another secret or something. _God, please don't let there be another kid_, he had thought to himself during the car ride. He loved Hayley, but he wasn't sure if he was mentally ready for another child.

"Hi, welcome to Applebees!" the hostess greeted the two of them. "Table for two?"

"Yes, please." Shane replied with a friendly smile.

"Alright, follow me." The two of them followed the hostess through the crowded restaurant. Mitchie noticed as they walked through the crowd, she felt Shane's hand on the small of her back, guiding her. She smiled to herself. It was a cute, gentlemen-like gesture Ken never did to her. It was a nice change.

"Someone will be right around to take your orders!" The hostess said handing them two menus. They both smiled at her before she walked away. Shane opened his menu and looked at it quizzically. He already knew what he wanted but he didn't want to sit there and stare at Mitchie stare at her menu.

After a few minutes, he set his menu on the table and looked over to Mitchie who was still looking at her. She saw him looking and peaked over her menu, sending him a smile which he returned. After a couple of more minutes, he gently tugged the menu down so he could see her entire face.

"Know what you want?" he asked. She smiled sheepishly and set the menu down on the table. "What's up with you? You've been acting kind of weird."

"Its just, at the park," she paused trying to find the right words. "When you were on top of me, that was nice."

Shane's eyes widen and he coughed, choking on his own spit. Her face went red and she shook her head.

"No, I didn't mean like that. I meant..." she trailed off. She didn't even know what she meant.

"No, I understand what you're trying to say. That was nice for me too. Playing around with you felt good. No offense but since I've been here, you've kinda been a little standoffish. Like you don't want me around." he said sadly.

"I'm sorry that it seems that way because it isn't. Truth is, I _do_ want you around. I mean, you're a great guy to be around its just..."

"Ken?" Shane attempted to finished her sentence. She shook her head.

"No, I just can't let myself let you in, you know? Last time I did you left me in an empty hotel room. I knew you were a musician so I didn't let myself think you'd want to see me after that night but I thought you'd at least be there when I woke up." she confessed. It felt so good to finally get that off her chest.

Shane stood up from his side of the booth they were seated in and went to sit beside her. He sat his hands on the table, folding them over one another.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am for doing that. I know I hurt you, I get that." he turned to her, draping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "But you have to let down your guard. Believe me when I say I will _never_ hurt you again. I mean, I left a world tour for you-"

"You left for Hayley," she corrected him.

"I left for _you_. Hayley is just a bonus." he said with a smile. "Mitchie, can I..."

"Go ahead," she said already knowing what he was about to ask. Shane hesitated before leaning in, gently pressing his lips against hers. What started as a innocent kiss turned into a full on make-out prompting a guy seated in front of them to yell for them to get a room.

"Uhh, sir?" Shane pulled away from Mitchie and looked at the waiter who was awkwardly standing in front of them. "Are you ready to order?"

Shane looked at Mitchie who shook her head. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He slapped it in the waiter's hand and exited the booth, pulling Mitchie behind him.

"What's this for?" the waiter asked watching the two of them leave the restaurant.

"For your time!" Shane called out behind him.

As he and Mitchie walked to his car, they kept laughing, giving each other quick kisses. When they got to his car, Shane walked her to the passenger side and before opening the door, gave her one last long kiss. He ran over to the driver's side, hopped in and started to drive away.

He took his eyes off the road to look at Mitchie who had a huge smile plastered on her face. When he reached a red light, he looked over to her.

"So am I taking you back to Caitlyn's or back to my place?"

**\=/**

Fifteen minutes later, Shane and Mitchie were in his loft, in his bedroom, on his bed, making out. Mitchie had decided to join him back at his place. She had already caused a spectacle at the park and at Applebees, she might as well continue her behavior.

"So...what does...this mean?" Shane, who was wearing just his jeans, managed to ask between kisses. Mitchie, who was lying underneath him in nothing but her underwear, stopped kissing him and looked at him, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I'm not sure." she answered honestly. She really did know. She took a moment to think about where she was at. In a guy's bed, half naked, without her daughter who she had dropped off at a friend's house for an impromptu sleepover and not to mention the guy she was with _wasn't_ her fiancee. She pushed Shane off of her and rolled over and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Wait, what are you doing?" he asked frantically. He crawled over to her, placing kisses on the back of her neck. She shooed him away, reaching down for her dress that was on the floor.

"I can't do this. I can't be here right now. I have a daughter and a fiancee and-"

"Not to sound like the devil on your shoulder but, you've been a damn good mom for two years. You deserve a little break." Shane said.

"But what about Ken?" she asked, looking at him from over her shoulder.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." he said. She dropped her dress back on the floor and found her way underneath Shane's bedsheets. A smile crept on his face as he slid out of his jeans and hopped back on top of her. Before he could kiss her, she stuck out her hand, stopping his lips.

"This can't be just a hookup. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna have to agree on some kind of relationship or something." she informed him.

"Hey, I'm not the one with the fiancee." he shrugged.

"Well I'm not gonna leave him if all we're gonna do is have sex. I have to know it gonna be more than that." Shane sighed and fell to the side of her.

"Mitchie," he said softly, running his hand over the side of her face. "I've learned my lesson. I don't just want to sleep with you. I want a relationship, a legit relationship. I wanna walk down the street holding hands. I want to be able to call my brothers and tell them about my new girlfriend. I wanna keep making out in restaurants and have old people tell us to get a room."

Mitchie smiled at him. She sighed. _I can't believe I'm really about to do this, _she thought to herself. She gave Shane a flirtatious smile, prompting him to hop back on top of her. She really hoped she was making the right decision. This time, if things didn't work out, she wouldn't be the only one getting her heart broken. Hayley would be too.

**\=/**

**Oh. Em. Gee. Haha. How'd you like this chapter? Yay? Nay? I wont know unless you leave me a review! So leave me one and I'll try to update before the New Year! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. What You Wanted

**A/N: There's quite a bit of swearing in this chapter so I just thought I'd warn you guys. :P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Seven – What You Wanted**

Mitchie stood on Caitlyn's doorstep shivering a little bit from the chill November air. She had just came from Shane's loft after their little rendezvous last night and she needed to pick up Hayley. After knocking a few more times, the door swung open and Caitlyn welcomed her in.

"Hey, where's Hayley? Is she sleeping?" Mitchie asked looking around and not seeing her daughter.

Caitlyn walked around to face Mitchie. She stared at her, squinting her eyes and taking steps back and forth toward her. "Oh my gosh, you're glowing. You totally slept with him!"

"Wait, you can tell just by looking at me! Do you think Ken's gonna notice something's weird about me?"

"No, no, guys can't see that kind of stuff. He'll just think you got a tan or something." Caitlyn grabbed Mitchie's hand and dragged her over to the couch. The two plopped down and Caitlyn turned off the TV show she was watching before Mitchie arrived.

"So, how was it?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Uh, that's for me to know and you never to find out." Mitchie answered, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"So was this just another one night stand or are you guys gonna sneak around behind Ken's back?" Mitchie frowned at the question. She remembered what she had told Shane last night.

"It's not just sex. We're going to be a legit couple...just as soon as I break things off with Ken."

"Which will be soon, right?" Caitlyn's question caused Mitchie to stare off into space. Obviously she was avoiding answering. "Mitchie! You have to break up with Ken like, _now_!"

"I know, I know but you know how he gets. What if he gets all pissed and – I don't even wanna think about it." Mitchie said holding her hands up in protest.

"Well you better start thinking about it soon because its gonna be Thanksgiving soon and you have to decide who's family you're gonna spend it with; Shane's or Ken's."

Mitchie hated to admit it but Caitlyn was right. She felt like a hypocrite for feeling this way but she did still have _some_ feelings for Ken. Even though he could be an ass she knew that he could be sweet to her...he just never did. But then again, she had obvious feelings for Shane. She barely knew the guy outside of the things she read about him in magazines and saw about him on talk shows but there was something about him. He made her feel...she couldn't describe it. She knew if she dropped what she had with Shane she'd always wonder 'what if' and that would eat her up inside.

"What about Hayley? If I just break it off with Ken, how's Hayley gonna feel? She still thinks that's her dad." Caitlyn fretted before coming up with a plan.

"Just tell her the truth. She's almost three years old and she's way smart for her age. She'll understand and if she doesn't, its not like she's gonna care. She loves Shane, right?"

Damn. She was right again. Sometimes Mitchie wondered why she even talked to Caitlyn. All she ever did was make her feel like everything she thought was wrong was really right.

"Fine. I'll do it next week." Mitchie said proudly.

"Next week? Why next week?" Caitlyn asked.

"Because that means I can still sneak around with Shane for a week. There's something..._thrilling_ about sneaking around with him." That was partly true but the real reason why she wanted to wait a week was so that she could give Ken one last chance. If she could see that maybe he really did love her then she'd try to figure out something else with Shane. She highly doubted he would but then again, she also highly doubted she'd ever see Shane again and look how that turned out.

**\=/**

_**Two Days Later**_

Shane stood in Starbucks, picking up a latte he had just ordered. It had been a few days since he had seen Mitchie and even though he wanted to see her, the time away from her gave him some 'Shane Time'. He had managed to pen a few songs, call Nate and Jason to check up on them and he even gave an over-the-phone interview concerning his whereabouts. As soon as Ken was _completely _out of the picture and Mitchie was fully his, Shane could go ahead and call his life perfect.

"Thanks," As Shane turned to leave the counter with his latte, he accidentally collided with the man who was standing behind him. The crash sent Shane to the floor and Shane's drink on the man's shirt. "Ow..."

"Oh, that's just perfect! Thanks a lot buddy..." the man yelled at Shane as he tried to dab the coffee off of his white button-up dress shirt. Shane stood up and took a better look at this guy. He was your typical overworked man. He had on what looked like to be an overly expensive suit and a black trench coat.

"Chill man, ever heard of an accident?" Shane asked him harshly. The man gawked at him.

"Ever heard of watching where you're going?" he shot back at Shane. Shane couldn't believe this guy. He wasn't the one who fell on the floor _and_ lost his drink. "Wait, you're that Gray guy. The singer, right?"

Shane rolled his eyes. As soon as Mr. Loud Mouth uttered those words, nearly everyone in the cafe turned to look at him. He saw some of their eyes widen when they realized who he was. _Oh great..._, Shane thought. He had spent quite some time being elusive in Phoenix. Maybe it was finally time he got caught.

"I'll get you another latte right away Mr. Gray!" the boy behind the counter yelled to him. Shane turned to face him and put his hand up as if to tell him not to.

"It's okay. I wasn't really that thirsty anyway." The man Shane had ran into grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around.

"So you think because you're some big celebrity you can just do whatever you want?" he asked him. People were starting to gather around them now.

"No, I don't. And its just a shirt. Don't get your panties in a bunch." Shane spat at him. He usually wasn't this way with people but this guy was really starting to tick him off.

Just as the guy started toward Shane, his fist balled, another man dressed exactly like him came up behind him, holding him back. "Come on Ken, we're gonna be late."

Shane's eyes widened and a nervous laugh escaped from his lips. "Holy crap, you're Ken." He held his hands up in front of the guy and started to back away toward the door. Everyone stared at him like he was crazy but Shane just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Once he got into his car, he had rested his head on the steering wheel. Of all the overly angry lawyers for Shane to run into he had to run into _him_. His head was spinning. Maybe he was wrong. Ken was a common name, right? Especially for lawyers, right? Who was he kidding? Shane knew the man he had ran into was in fact _that_ Ken. If he got that upset over spilt coffee, he could only imagine what other little things ticked him off. He didn't want that kind of guy around Hayley and Mitchie.

**\=/**

Mitchie laid in bed holding a film strip of pictures of herself and Shane that they had taken at one of those photo booths in the mall. The first three were goofy but the last one, Shane had caught her by surprise by kissing her. Looking at the pictures made her think about what she told Caitlyn. According to her own stipulations, Ken had three days to prove that there was still an ounce of him that loved Mitchie. So far, he had been failing at it. He was spending more time at the office and didn't even bother to ask where she went when she would leave and not return until the next morning.

Mitchie's thoughts were interrupted by the man himself storming through the bedroom door. She quickly put the strip of pictures under her pillow and gave him a weak smile. He didn't see it, however. He had stormed into the room and started taking off his clothes. She noticed the giant coffee stain on his shirt.

"You will never guess what happened today," he started. Mitchie didn't say anything. She wasn't really in the guessing mood. "I was at Starbucks and this..._prick_ spills his latte all over my shirt, right? So I'm getting in the guy's face and guess who it was? It was that horrid teeny-bop pop star Sean Gray."

"It's Shane. His name is _Shane_ Gray." Mitchie corrected almost without thinking. Ken wondered why she would care if he got the guy's name right or wrong but shrugged it off.

"Yeah, Sean, Shane, same thing." he muttered. Mitchie rolled her eyes at him.

"No, its not the same thing. If you're gonna talk about him at least get his name right." her words not only shocked Ken, but herself as well.

"Okay, what's been up with you lately?" he asked her. She shrugged her shoulders. "You've been acting..._different_. Like last night when-"

"Ken I wasn't even here last night." She pointed out. He muttered an 'Oh' and slipped into another shirt. "You're not even gonna ask me where I was? I bet you didn't even notice that Hayley isn't here, did you?"

"You're a grown woman, you can go wherever you want at night and it's not my job to keep up with the kid-"

Mitchie was done. She was done with his attitude, the way he talked about Hayley, the way he talked to her and the way he treated them both. Three days wasn't going to change anything. She was certain of it.

"Yes, it is your job to keep up with her! She's your daughter, why can't you act like her father?" she yelled, standing up from the bed.

"What are you talking about? I do act like her father," he said, not looking at her but instead looking in his drawer for a pair of socks.

"No, you don't. A father would take her out for ice cream and make her feel better when she hurts herself. A real father would actually pay attention to the fact that her birthday is in five days. You're nothing but a ATM machine." Ken turned and faced her. He looked half confused and half upset.

"Where do you get off talking to me like that, huh? I work my ass off to provide for you two and this is how you talk to me?" Mitchie gave him a sarcastic laugh.

"When are you gonna realize that its not about money. It was never about money. I'd rather be broke and in love than rich and miserable."

"Are you saying you're miserable?" Ken asked taking small steps toward her.

"I'm not saying I'm happy..." Mitchie said folding her hands over her chest.

"Well if you think that being with me is miserable," he quickly grabbed a hold of her wrist, gripping it tighter than he knew he should. "Let me show just how miserable things can get."

**\=/**

Shane sat on his couch, his laptop on his lap, trying to find some fun ideas of how to celebrate Hayley's upcoming birthday when there was a knock at the door.

"Hang on," he yelled out thinking it was the food he had ordered to be delivered to his loft. The knocks got more persistent and Shane groaned and stood up to go answer it. "Don't you know the meaning of-"

"Hey Shane," Shane's mouth opened and his mind went blank. It was the fact that Mitchie was standing in front of him right now that shocked him, it was the state she was in. She was smiling but crying at the same time. She had a bruise under her eye and her cheeks were tearstained. Her hair was all over the place and she just looked disheveled all together.

"Mitchie..." That was all Shane could say. He didn't know what to say. He grabbed the bags that she was holding out of her hand and sat them inside of his living room.

"I broke it off with Ken," she said with a dry laugh before she broke down crying. Shane opened his arms, pulling her into a hug. He led her in, closing the door with his foot. The two of them sat on his couch, and he stared at her, not really knowing what he should do.

"Mitchie, what happened?" he asked. She stopped crying and wiped the eye that wasn't bruised and looked up at him.

"It just got out of hand. I was so sick of him and I just started telling him things I've been wanting to say forever. I told him I was miserable and he...he..." Shane hugged her again as she started to cry again. He continued comforting her until he felt her stop crying.

"Your eye, did he hit you?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing into an angry expression. She nodded her head, not looking at him. "Where's Hayley? Was she there?"

Mitchie shook her head. "She was with Caitlyn. She still is actually. I wanted to pick her up but I didn't want her to see me like this."

"We can both go get her later, okay?" Shane told her trying to sound as warm and comforting as possible.

"I fucked up Shane. I should've just never told him all that stuff. I should've just left without telling him anything. Now Hayley and I don't have anywhere to stay."

"Mitchie you know that you and Hayley can stay here. And you didn't fuck up, okay? He did. He's gonna regret putting his hands on you, trust me." Shane grabbed her hands and led her to the bathroom. She sat on the edge of the bathtub and Shane grabbed a washcloth from inside of the small closet inside of the bathroom. He ran it under cold water and sat next to her. He wiped her cheeks, first the one that wasn't bruised. When he reached for the one that was bruised, she flinched. Seeing her like this, it hurt him and angered him at the same time. She didn't deserve that kind of treatment.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Shane said grabbing one of her hands with his free hand. She nodded for him to continue and he gently ran the washcloth over her bruised cheek.

"Hey, at least you got what you wanted now." Mitchie said to him, giving him a weak smile. He frowned at her.

"I never wanted this. Yeah, I wanted us to be together but if I would've known he would've done this to you..." Shane trailed off. He couldn't focus at the moment. His thoughts were consumed with getting to Ken. He wanted to see him, face to face. "Will you be alright here by yourself?"

"Where are you going?" she asked him watching him stand from the bathtub's edge.

"He's not gonna get away with this." he said, only referring to Ken as 'he'. "You stay here. Take a shower, clean up and get comfortable. I'm gonna go talk to him and then I'll get Hayley on my way back, okay?"

Mitchie nodded. She wanted to tell Shane not to go but she knew he wouldn't have listened. She had only known Shane to be a sweet guy. The only time she really saw him get angry was when he first found out about Ken. And that look that he had in his eye that night was the same look that he had right now. She knew he was intent on getting to Ken.

**\=/**

Ken stood in his kitchen running hot water over his hands. He turned and looked at his living room. The coffee table was knocked over and the couch pillows were scattered over the floor. He didn't want things to get out control like they did but he just couldn't believe that Mitchie would think that living with him was 'miserable'. If he was in her shoes, he would never be as ungrateful as she was. He'd actually appreciate the luxuries she got.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He walked over, through the scattered couch pillows and opened the door. When he opened it, his face twisted into a confused expression.

"What the hell?" he asked. "What are you doing here and how'd you find my house?"

"You're a bastard, you know?"

"Whoa, is this about the whole Starbucks thing because-"

"You think its okay to hit a woman?" Ken's eyes squinted. It was strange enough that Shane Gray was standing at his door but it was even stranger that he seemed to be pissed off and was questioning him about the situation that had just took place in his living room. When he didn't answer, Shane shoved him backwards and entered his house.

"Hang on a second-"

"No, answer me. Do you think hitting a woman makes you more of a man?" Shane yelled at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ken said holding up his hands in defense. Shane threw his head back and laughed before shoving him again, this time sending him to the floor. "Hey man-"

"You don't deserve someone like Mitchie." Shane said, standing over him. "She should've left your pathetic ass a long time ago."

"How do you know about Mitchie? Where is all this coming from?" Ken asked confused.

"I don't have to answer your questions, okay? I'm just here to do this," Shane dropped his fist down right on top of Ken's left eye. He squirmed around on the floor holding his face.

"Consider your ass sued for assault!" he yelled out at Shane.

"If you sue me for assault, I'll make sure Mitchie sues your for domestic abuse." Ken removed his hands from his face to look at Shane. He had this smile on his face as if he had defeated Ken. Before Ken could say anything, Shane threw a small diamond ring at him.

Ken laid on his living room floor utterly confused watching Shane Gray leave his house. He had just been punched in the face and thrown his ex-fiancee's engagement ring. He had certainly had one odd day.

**\=/**

**So I kinda hated this chapter but I just wanted to get rid of Ken. HAHA So, no longer will Ken be 'Smitchie's' problem. They're gonna have a new problem starting at the next chapter. :P Did you guys really think I'd let them let happily ever after this soon? HAHA.**

**Well, leave me a nice little review and I'll try to update as soon as I can (since stupid school is about to start back again).**

**Thanks For Reading! :]**


	8. Welcome Back Home

**Summary: Every Time Connect 3 Goes On Tour, There's Always Something Special About Arizona That Shane Can't Resist.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Eight – Welcome Back Home**

"Here you go," Shane sat next to Mitchie on the school cafeteria style table that was inside of 'Pump It Up', a giant building full of different inflatable bouncy castles. "I got you some cake."

It had been a week since Mitchie's incident with Ken and she and Hayley had moved in with Shane. Things were kind of weird at first, more for Mitchie than Hayley who felt totally at home living with Shane, but they were starting to get easier. Shane was trying his best to make both of the girls feel as comfortable as possible and throwing Hayley this huge birthday party was a part of the plan.

While Hayley played with her friends from daycare, Shane and Mitchie sat a table away from the other parents so they could talk and have a bit of alone time.

"Thank you." Mitchie said to Shane, grabbing the plate of cake he was handing her. She set it down in front of her and looked back at him. She didn't say anything, though. Instead, she just looked at him and thought about all the nice things he had done for her in the past week. He had graciously given up _his_ bedroom so she and Hayley could have a room while he crashed on the couch. He had thrown together this huge party for Hayley. She even found out that he went and knocked Ken around a few times. In a way, she wasn't just saying 'Thank you' for the cake, she was saying it for much more.

"What?" Shane turned his attention away from the bouncy castle Hayley was bouncing in to meet Mitchie's gaze which was fixated on him. He flashed her a smile causing her to smile herself.

"I was just thinking about all that you've done for me lately and-" Shane held up his hands telling her to stop.

"How many time do I have to tell you, you don't have to thank me. I'm Hayley's dad and _your_ boyfriend. I'm not doing these things because I feel bad for you or whatever. I'm doing them because I care about you both, alright?" Mitchie nodded at his words and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They had this rule about not showing any affection in front of Hayley but she was so busy playing Shane doubted she would notice. He didn't think about the other parents though.

"Mitchie, Sean!" The two of them watched as Caroline took a seat in front of them, blocking their view of the playing children. Shane noticed she was dressed less uptight than she was the last time he saw her. Today she was wearing a light pink J. Crew hoodie and khaki shorts. _Such a soccer mom,_ Shane thought.

"Hey Caroline," Mitchie greeted the woman with a forced smile.

"Yeah my name is Shane." Shane reminded her. Caroline looked as if she was about to roll her eyes at him but instead flashed her bleached smile at him.

"Of course! You're Shane Gray. Famous rock star." she said as if she was some sort of TV announcer. "You know, Ken told everyone at the office what happened."

Mitchie felt a knot twist up in her stomach. The only person she had really talked about that whole situation with was Shane. The last thing she wanted was a law firm full of strangers knowing how Ken gave her a lovely black eye before they ended their engagement.

Shane saw the look on Mitchie's face and decided to step in. "Caroline, we're here to celebrate Hayley turning three, not gossip."

"You know," Caroline brought her voice to a whisper. "I'm the only one here who knows about you two being together but everyone is starting to get suspicious. They're starting to wonder if you got Hayley a new daddy for her birthday."

Shane shot up from the table and stood over Caroline. The woman smiled to Mitchie before standing up to face Shane. For a woman, she was only a few inches shorter than Shane. He clenched his jaw as he tried to find the words to tell her. Who did she think she was bringing up the Ken situation and trying to call Mitchie a bad mother or something? She was way out of line. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the other parents staring at him from the corner of his eye. He figured they sent her over to get the whole story. He sat back down, folded his hands on top of the table and shook his head. He used to think gossip magazines were bad but nothing beats the gossip suburban moms.

Mitchie watched as Caroline walked back over to the other parents who immediately began glancing at her and Shane and snickering to each other. It reminded her of when she was back in high school and that was an experience she rather not relive. She slid her arm around Shane and brought her lips up to his ear.

"Can we leave? I-I really can't take them," she whispered. Shane nodded and placed a kiss on her forehead before standing up and walking up to one of the bouncy castles to get Hayley. As he walked, he looked over to the group of gossiping parents and shook his head. He couldn't believe a bunch of adults were acting like this.

"Hey Haylz," Shane called out poking his head inside the bouncy castle. The little girl bounced over to him smiling. "Let's get out of here. I'm gonna take you and your mom to dinner for your big day, okay?"

"Can we go somewhere were they have cheeseburgers?" Hayley asked as she jumped out of the castle and onto Shane's back.

"We can go anywhere you want kiddo," he told her with a laugh. He looked over to the exit and saw Mitchie standing there waiting. Hayley waved bye to her friends and some of the parents as they walked out. Shane just shot all of the parents one last dirty look.

"Did you have fun, honey?" Mitchie asked Hayley, who was still latched onto Shane.

"Yes! But mommy, I have a question." As they reached Shane's car, Shane placed Hayley on the ground and leaned against the car waiting to hear her question.

"Go ahead sweetie," Mitchie told Hayley.

The little girl twisted her face as if she was searching for the right way to phrase what she was thinking. "Tony told me that his mom said that you and Shane were..._dating._ But I don't know what dating means so I just told Tony to shut up. What does dating mean?"

"Uh," Mitchie looked over to Shane who stood there leaned against the car looking calm. He shrugged at her. Maybe it was time to tell Hayley the truth? "Well sweetie, see when two people like each other, they _date_ each other."

"So you like Shane?" Hayley didn't even giver Mitchie time to answer before she turned her head to Shane. "Shane, do you like my mommy?"

"I'm afraid so kiddo." Shane answered. Once again, Hayley's face twisted into a look of confusion.

"But what about daddy? I thought you liked daddy," Mitchie grabbed both of the little girl's hands. Maybe this was too much to explain to a three year old.

"Sometimes Hayley, you can like someone and then one day, you just don't like them anymore. That's what happen with me and your dad..." Mitchie bent down to Hayley's eye level. "But I'm gonna tell you something, alright? Ken – _daddy _was just...pretending to be your dad while Shane was gone. See, Shane is really your daddy. Do you understand?"

Hayley stared at Mitchie then looked up at Shane. "So daddy really isn't my daddy, Shane is?"

Mitchie nodded slowly. She wasn't sure if she was explaining this well enough.

"So I can call Shane daddy?" Again, Mitchie nodded. Hayley shrugged and walked over to Shane. "Daddy, can you open the door?"

Shane smiled to himself as he opened the backseat door and Hayley climbed into the backseat and into her car seat. Mitchie walked over to Shane, her cheeks red. He opened his arms and embraced her in a hug.

"You handled that well." he told her, squeezing her tight.

"Yeah well I guess I can just be thankful Hayley's a smart kid and she likes you so you being her new dad isn't such a big deal." she said holding him as tightly as he was holding her.

"Speaking of being thankful," Shane started, releasing her from his grip. "How would you and Hayley like to spend Thanksgiving in New Jersey?"

"Why New Jersey?" Mitchie asked.

"Because it's nice there...and I want you to meet my parents," Shane said the last part quickly. "You know, you should get in the car,"

"Shane, I am not spending Thanksgiving in New Jersey with your folks." Mitchie said matter-of-factly.

"Babe, please," Shane folded his hands together to beg her. "Only Nate and Jason know about you, about us and I just want to tell my whole family, ya know? Please,"

Mitchie looked at the pathetic way he had his lips sticking out, pleading her to agree with him. She rolled her eyes and nodded to him before walking over to the passenger side of the car and hoping in.

Shane quickly entered the car and stuck the key in the ignition but didn't start the car. "That's a yes right?"

Mitchie gave Shane one of those, 'Don't-Push-It' looks so he took that as his yes. He had become extremely excited for Thanksgiving now. He couldn't wait to introduce Mitchie to his family. It was sure to be an amazing holiday.

**\=/**

"You're sure this dress is fine?" Mitchie asked Shane one more time as they sat in Shane's car in the driveway of his parent's home. It was Thanksgiving day and the three of them, Hayley included, were sitting in his car waiting for Shane's brothers to arrive so they could walk in together.

"Mitchie, you look gorgeous, okay? Your dress is perfect. Your hair is amazing and no, you aren't wearing too much makeup." Shane assured her. She wanted to glare at him but all she could do was smile. She loved how he always made her feel like she was perfect even though she knew she was far from it.

"What about me daddy?" Hayley called from the backseat. Ever since her birthday, Hayley had taken to Shane being her 'new dad' quickly. She didn't really treat him any different except for calling him daddy which was music to Shane's ears.

"Both of my girls look gorgeous." he said, turning to Hayley and flashing her a smile. Just then, there was a knock on Shane's window. He unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the car.

"Nathaniel!" Shane yelled grabbing his younger brother's forehead and planting a kiss on it. Nate pushed him away and wiped his forehead with his sweater sleeve.

"You gotta stop doing that every time you haven't seen me for a long time," Nate commented still wiping his forehead. He peaked behind Shane and stared through the window and spotted Mitchie. He smiled and waved before turning back to Shane. "Well she is definitely hotter than I remember but that's probably because when I last saw her I was drunk off my ass."

Shane glared at his younger brother who held his hands up in defense. Nate frowned taking a look in the backseat. He looked back at Shane with a confused look on his face.

"Who is _that_?" Nate asked pointing to the little girl in the backseat.

"See I might've forgotten to mention that Mitchie and I have a daughter..." Shane said nonchalantly. Nate stared at him wide eyed as Jason and his guest joined the two boys.

"Hey Shane! Good to see you man!" Jason greeted his brother. Shane smiled at both his brother and his brother's girlfriend, Danielle.

"Excuse my language but you have a fucking daughter! And you decided to bring this up now? What the hell is wrong with you? Mom is going to freak out. Wow, you've already ruined Thanksgiving dinner and it hasn't even started yet."

Shane rolled his eyes at his brother as Jason started to catch on. He too looked in Shane's backseat and saw the little girl. "Aw, she's got your eyebrows." Jason commented.

"Oh my gosh she does! She's so adorable Shane." Danielle told him, looking for herself.

Nate stared at the couple. "Are you...I can't even deal with this right now."

Before Nate could walk off, Shane stopped him by placing a hand on his chest. "Hey, she's your niece, man. You don't have to like it but you will not be rude to her or Mitchie, okay?"

Nate sighed heavily pushing Shane's hand away from him. Shane shrugged off Nate's little temper tantrum and walked over to let Mitchie and Hayley out of the car. The three of them walked back to join Nate, Jason and Danielle to get introductions between them out of the way.

"Nate, Jason, Danielle, this is Mitchie and Hayley." Shane introduced the two of them. Mitchie shook hands with everyone while Hayley waved.

"Hey," Hayley said tugging on the end of Nate's sweater. Nate looked down to see what the little girl wanted. "Are you my Uncle Nate?"

"Yeah, I guess," Nate answered.

"My daddy told me a lot about you. I think you're pretty cool." Nate looked up at Shane who offered him a weak smile. He took his hand out of his pocket and held it up to give the little girl a high-five.

"You seem pretty cool too, kid." Nate said as he and Hayley's hands slapped together. "Now, let's go eat."

The six of them walked up toward the doorstep. Jason and Danielle were completely calm seeing as how Danielle had already met the Gray parents and Nate was too busy talking to Hayley to really care what was going on. Shane, who was holding onto Mitchie's hand could feel her shaking. He looked at her and mouthed to her to calm down. She offered him a small smile but there was no way she was going to calm down. She really loved Shane and for her, meeting his parents was a big deal. She could just imagine all the ways she could screw this up.

Jason knocked on the door a few times before it swung open and an older version of Shane stood there, arms open and a huge grin on his face.

"Jess, they're here!" he yelled back into the huge house. "Jason, Dani, how are you two?" he asked the couple, giving them both kisses on the cheek as they entered the house.

Nate walked up to his dad, his hand holding on to Hayley's. "Nate, my little boy! And a little girl?"

"Don't worry dad, Shane'll explain." Nate assured his dad, patting him on the back and entering the house with Hayley.

Shane and Mitchie walked up to Shane's dad, Mitchie putting on her best 'I'm-Totally-Not-Nervous' smile. Shane's dad smiled at Shane and looked at her, his smile fading.

"Um, hi sir I'm Mitchie," she said extending her hand that wasn't latched on to Shane's. His dad looked at her hand and then to Shane.

"She's my girlfriend." Shane clarified. Mitchie wasn't totally sure but she could swear Shane was just a nervous as she was.

"Huh." That was all Shane's dad said before walking into the house leaving the two of them on the doorstep. Mitchie laid her hand back down by her side, her face turning beet red. She turned to Shane, a frown on her face.

"He hates me. He wouldn't even shake my hand." she told him. Shane shook his head.

"He's just...look, let's just go in." Shane led her in, shutting the door behind him. The entire house smelled of all different kinds of Thanksgiving foods. Jason and Danielle were in the kitchen helping out while Nate had started watching those cheesy Thanksgiving specials on TV with Hayley. Shane grabbed Mitchie by the hand and led her to the kitchen to meet his mom.

"Hey, mom," Shane spoke. The older women looked up and set down the knife she was using to cut up vegetables with. She smiled at Shane and walked over to give him a hug.

"Shane, I've missed you! Your brothers tell me you missed the last leg of the tour?" his mom asked him.

"I'll tell you about that later, now, I want you to meet my girlfriend Mitchie." Shane said stepping aside so his mom could see Mitchie who was smiling weakly.

"Oh Shane, she's much prettier than any of your other girlfriends," his mom said walking over to Mitchie, embracing her in a warm hug. She had to admit, this greeting was much better than the cold shoulder Shane's dad gave her. "How are you honey?"

"Fine, thank you for asking. How are you?" Mitchie asked, slightly taken aback by her niceness.

"I'm wonderful, just ready to put this dinner on the table. You two go grab some seats."

Mitchie nodded as she and Shane walked over to the huge dining table. They took two seats next to each other, making sure there was one next to Mitchie so Hayley could sit and sat down.

"Okay, I love your mom. Why can't your dad be more like that?" She asked Shane half-jokingly.

"Mom's easy to impress. Dad's a little bit harder but don't worry, he'll love you." Shane told her. She wanted to believe him, she really did but there was just something about the way his dad so coldly greeted her that made her rethink this whole Thanksgiving dinner idea. But it made Shane happy and it was the least she could do after all he had done for her.

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**Okay so, I have no idea why but I didn't get ANY e-mails alerting me that you guys reviewed. I don't know why but I didn't so I just assumed everyone hated the chapter. LOL Little did I know, you guys really liked it! I really love how this chapter came out and I wanted to add the actual dinner scene in here but it'd just make the chapter way long so I'm gonna leave you guys with a kind of cliff-hanger until the next update. Aren't I just so evil? HAHA.**

**Well leave me a review and I'll try to update before Sunday/Monday! :]**

**Oh! And I have this idea for a new fic, I'm gonna leave the summary so tell me if you guys would be interested in reading it! :]**

_**No Camps Rocking: Shane said he came back to Camp Rock for a second summer to get to know Mitchie better but we all know what boys really mean by 'get you know you better'. Shane just never considered the fact he'd have to try to get to know Mitchie better while her mom hovered over the two of them, preventing his every advance. Guess they'll be no 'camps rocking' this summer...or will there?**_


	9. Three Words

**A/N: Once again, I didn't get any e-mails telling me you guys reviewed but I checked manually everyday so I know that I got a lot of nice reviews! And sorry it took so long to update! I caught the flu so I was sick for a while. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! :]**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

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**Chapter Nine – Three Words**

The Gray family's Thanksgiving had been pleasantly awkward to say the least. Initially it had started off great. Shane's mom was trying to make Mitchie feel like a welcomed guest, there was a lot of polite conversation going on between everyone at the table but all that ceased when Shane's dad, who had been quiet for most of the conversations, brought up the tour. Shane had told Mitchie before that his dad served at he and his brother's manager so she expected him to be a little upset about Shane leaving the tour. She didn't, however, expect all of the blame to be placed on her.

After dinner, Mitchie had volunteered to help Shane's mom with cleaning dishes while everyone else relaxed in the living room. She really wanted to stay attached to Shane but Mitchie saw this as a chance to talk to Shane's mom and maybe get her to convince her husband that she wasn't.

"So how did you and Shane meet?" Mrs. Gray asked Mitchie scrubbing a plate that was halfway submerged in soapy water. Mitchie thought carefully before answering.

"We just ran into each other a few years ago when he came in to town for a show. We kinda clicked but never exchanged numbers or anything so when he came back, he found me and the rest is history." Mitchie said vaguely. She wasn't about to let the older woman know that she met her son in a bar and he knocked her up. Some things are better left unsaid.

"Ah, I see. And are you two in love?" she asked her. Again, Mitchie thought carefully. This time, it wasn't because she was trying to decipher what details to leave out, it was because she honestly didn't know the answer. Sure, she loved Shane but was she wasn't sure she was _in love_ with him.

"Well I really, _really_ like your son but I don't say 'I love you' unless I mean it and it wouldn't be right of me to tell him that yet because I wouldn't really mean it," Mitchie said tentatively.

"Alright, I can respect that. At least you aren't like any of Shane's other girlfriends who were in love with him two hours into the relationship." The two women laughed at Mrs. Gray's joke. Mitchie noticed the older woman had stopped laughing and was now looking at her with a serious expression on her face. "What about Hayley?"

Mitchie looked down at her hands which were resting on the kitchen counter. Neither her or Shane had said anything about Hayley except for introducing her to everyone. She wasn't sure whether she said lie and say the little girl was her sister or just tell the truth.

"You know she looks just like Shane," Mrs. Gray spoke causing Mitchie to look away from her hands and up at her. "The minute I saw her I knew she was Shane's."

Mitchie felt her face go hot which probably meant she was turning bright red. She couldn't help it. She was a tad embarrassed. "I don't know what to say..." she said honestly.

"It's okay, sweetie. You don't have to say anything. Listen," Shane's mom dried her hands and rested one on Mitchie's shoulder. "I like you Mitchie. You seem like a really lovely girl and I can tell you make Shane really happy. Besides, its not my place to pass judgement on you."

A small smile formed on Mitchie's lips. "Thanks for being so understanding,"

"Oh its not big deal. I mean, you're probably gonna be my daughter-in-law so I have to be understanding, right?" Shane's mom said giving Mitchie a smile.

Just as Mitchie was about to speak, Shane's dad walked into the kitchen. The older Gray didn't even glance at Mitchie. He just brushed pass her and grabbed a can of soda out of the fridge.

"Uh, Mitchie, darling," Shane's mom placed a hand on Mitchie's shoulder, "Why don't you go relax in the living room for a while?"

Mitchie gave the older woman a warm smile before walking out of the kitchen and in to the living room. That left Mr. and Mrs. Gray all alone. Mr. Gray opened his can of soda and took a sip, leaning against the fridge.

"What?" he asked his wife who was glaring at him.

"Why are you behaving this way, Chris?" When he didn't answer, she continued. "That girl has done nothing wrong yet you're treating her as if she has."

"Jess, that _girl_ is the reason Shane left the tour. Do you realize how much money we lost because he decided to do that? And the kid-"

"Her name is Hayley," Mrs. Gray interrupted.

"Yeah, Hayley. She's his isn't she?" Mr. Gray looked at his wife who nodded. He winced to himself and ran a hand over his face. "So when Shane goes back to L.A. he's not only going to have to explain a new girlfriend but a child too. That's just great."

The two parents turned their heads toward the kitchen door when they heard someone clear their throat. Shane stood in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest and a look of annoyance on his face. Before his father could speak, Shane held his hand up not wanting to hear it.

"I'm not a little kid anymore dad. I can handle my own problems, okay? You don't have to go deciding things for me behind my back." Shane spoke.

"Shane you're still my son which means I'm still gonna look out for you and this girl-"

"Her name is Mitchie, dad."

"All I'm saying is that it might have been fun to pretend like you and Mitchie and Hayley are some perfect little family for these past weeks but the reality is that you have to go back to Hollywood and you have to get back to your music and...I just don't want you to have a breakdown trying to juggle your career and those two."

Shane shook his head at his dad and scoffed. "_Those two_ are my girlfriend and my daughter. We haven't been _'pretending'_ to be a family, we are one. Yes, my career is important to me but my priorities have changed."

"I just don't want to see you throw it all away for something that's not a sure thing."

"Oh because the music industry is such a solid business, right?" Shane asked sarcastically. "I could go back to L.A. right now and record a song that could _tank_ on the charts and I'd be done. That doesn't really sound like a sure thing to me."

"Look Shane, I just don't want you to get hurt-" Shane jerked his shoulder away as his father reached up to touch it.

"No, you don't want your bank account to get hurt. I'm too old for this crap." Shane spat out at his father. He stomped back into the living room only to hear the front door slam and notice that the spot where he left Mitchie was now empty. He looked over to Nate who was sprawled out across the floor next to Hayley.

"She heard you guys. She's pretty upset, bro." Nate informed him. Shane sighed and ran out after her.

When he walked outside, he saw Mitchie leaned against his car, sniffling. He slowly walked over to her, preparing a speech in his head. When she saw him, she shook her head and stared down at the ground.

"I'm sorry." Shane said softly. "My dad is an idiot, okay? He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Yes he does Shane," Mitchie's tone and reply took him by surprise. "After this, things are going to end just like they did two years ago. You're gonna go back to being Mr. Rockstar and I'm going to go back to being a stupid bartender. Except this time I won't be the only one getting hurt. Hayley's gonna miss you like crazy and..."

Shane wrapped his arms around her as her words drifted off. "I'm never going to leave you like that again. Remember what I told you in Applebees? I will _never_ hurt you or Hayley."

"But what about your music?" Mitchie asked softly, her head resting in his chest.

"I love my music but," Shane paused. He knew there were three words he could say and Mitchie would know he was sincere. "I love you."

Mitchie looked up at Shane with a look of disbelief. "You do?"

"Yeah, I guess I do." Shane replied letting a small chuckle escape from his lips.

Mitchie stared at him, looking into his dark eyes. She could tell he was serious. The look in his eyes wasn't the same look she saw when Ken had told her her loved her. He wasn't just saying that so she'd shut up, he actually meant it. Her mind instantly flashed to what she told his mom in their kitchen. She didn't want to say those three words to him unless she meant it but now that he had said it first, she felt almost pressured to say it back.

"I-I...um," Mitchie stuttered. Shane slid off the ring he was wearing on his middle finger and got down on one knee. Mitchie felt her heart drop down into her stomach. Was he really about to do what she thought he was about to do?

"Now that I've told you that I love you, how about another three-word phrase," Shane grabbed her hand and slid the oversized ring on the same finger that Ken's engagement ring used to occupy. "Marry me, Mitchie."

"Shane," she grabbed his hand and pulled him up off of his knee. "You can't propose, not like this."

"I know this isn't probably how you pictured it, in front of my parent's house with a ring that doesn't even fit you but-"

"No, not that. Its just...are you proposing because you want to or because you want to prove your dad wrong?" Shane's eyebrows furrowed. He exhaled a long breath and slid the ring back on his own finger.

"I guess you're right," Shane said running his fingers through his hair. "I mean, I do want to marry you one day but I guess I should ask you under better circumstances, huh?"

Mitchie nodded and gave him a tiny smile. She looked at Shane and thought about the past month or so of her life. Never would she have guessed that she'd be standing in Shane Gray's parent's driveway talking about marriage. Hell, she wouldn't have even guessed that she'd be in Shane's presence. At first, she didn't want anything to do with Shane. She couldn't think of him as anyone but the guy who left her alone in a hotel room after a late night tryst and, subsequently, knocked her up. But he had proved himself to her. He tried to let her know how sorry he was for leaving her, he actually showed that he cared about both her and Hayley and he was just an all-around good guy to her, which was a nice change after being engaged to Ken. And now that she was thinking about all these things, all that Shane had done for her, how much he cared for her, how could she not be in love with him?

"Well, I'm gonna go back inside, see if I can calmly talk to my dad," Shane said, walking back toward the front door of his parent's home.

"Shane," Mitchie called out to him.

"Yeah?" he answered, turning around to look at her.

"I love you, too."

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**Aw, how cute! Haha. The next update may not be so quick because school hates me and wants to give me as much homework as possible, but I'll try to write whenever I can! Leave me some awesome reviews! :]**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. LA Baby

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock. Trust me, if I did, Shane would have made Mitchie's 'Camp Rock' a long time ago ;) haha...**

**Arizona**

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**Chapter Ten – L.A. Baby**

Shane and Mitchie sat in their airplane seats waiting for the pilot to give the passengers the O.K. to exit the plane. The two of them had left New Jersey and had just landed in Los Angeles. They decided to take the trip so Mitchie could adjust to Shane's lifestyle before permanently moving herself and Hayley from Phoenix. Shane's mom and Nate had graciously offered to babysit Hayley in New Jersey so they could have a week or so alone.

Mitchie had her eyes closed and her head resting on the back of her seat. Shane looked over at her and grabbed her hand in his. This caused her to open her eyes and look at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. She shook her head which prompted him to squeeze her hand tight.

"There are going to be a lot of paparazzi out there, aren't there?" Mitchie asked nervously.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from their 'flashes-of-doom'," Shane said playfully. He had dealt with paparazzi most of his life so it was nothing for him but it was a big deal for Mitchie. He found her nervousness about it kind of cute, though.

"But what if they ask me something? What am I supposed to say?"

"Don't say anything." Shane's blatant answer surprised her. She turned her head and looked at him, her eyebrows furrowing.

"But wouldn't that be rude? If I'm rude they'll write mean things about me in the tabloids, right?" Shane laughed and brought her hand up to his lips. He kissed it softly and placed it back on the arm rest.

"Babe, just listen to me. Not saying anything to them isn't rude, okay? Even though its kind of adorable, stop worrying about it." Before Mitchie could ask any more questions about the 'paps', the pilots voice came over the loud speaker and instructed everyone that it was safe to exit the plane. Shane gave Mitchie a comforting smile before helping her stand so they could leave.

As the two of them entered LAX, Shane walked in front of Mitchie, holding on to her hand, guiding her to where they could pick up their luggage. Just as he suspected, the paparazzi knew about his landing in L.A. and they were out in full force. He remembered the first time he had his first actual encounter with paparazzi and how, as lame as it sounds, the constant flashing on their cameras intimidated him. He knew Mitchie had to be feeling the same way.

"Here," Shane turned to face her, taking off his leather jacket and white RayBan sunglasses, handing them both to her. "Put these on."

Mitchie did as he said. While she did, Shane turned to face the mob of photographers. He put on his best smile, grabbed onto Mitchie's hand again and started walking toward baggage claim. As they walked, the photographers shouted out questions like, _"Where have you been Shane?" "Who's the chick?" "Why did you leave your brothers on tour?" _Shane just politely smiled while Mitchie tried her best to hide behind Shane.

"Hey guys, I've really missed you hounding me but can you give us some space, please?" Shane asked the photographers. Some of them obliged by backing away. Some of them even stopped clicking photos but there were a few who still pointed their lenses at the couple.

Shane released his grip on Mitchie's hand so he could grab their luggage. He carried them out of the airport, turning around every so often to make sure she was still close behind. When they were outside, they saw a rather short, balding man jumping and waving at them.

"Shit," Shane muttered under his breath. "My dad sent my publicist to pick us up. I specifically asked for a cab..."

"What's so bad about your publicist?" Mitchie asked, feeling more comfortable to talk to him since they were clear of the bulk of the paparazzi.

"Besides the fact that he's annoying as hell, he's like a shorter, balder version of my dad." Shane informed her as the short man walked over to them.

"Shane! Long time no see!"

"Yeah, I know. Uh, Rich," Shane turned to Mitchie, a proud smirk creeping up on his face. "This is Mitchie. Mitchie, this is Rich."

"Ah, so this is the girl I've heard so much about." Rich looked Mitchie up and down before turning his attention back to Shane.

"Shane, there is major work that needs to be done concerning your image and we have got to start working on it now." Rich said in seemingly one breath.

"Uh, are you sure it can't wait until tomorrow? I really wanted to take Mitchie sightseeing today-"

"Uh, no." Rich said flatly. "We need to make sure that you two are poised and ready to be Hollywood's new 'It' couple."

"'It' couple?" Mitchie repeated.

"Rich, can I talk to you for a second?" Shane asked stepping in front of Mitchie, pushing Rich away from her.

"What is it Shane-O?" Rich whispered. He guessed whatever Shane had to tell him was something Shane didn't want Mitchie to hear.

"I know you mean good and you're just looking out for my best interest but you're gonna have to let me handle Mitchie, okay? She's not really used to Hollywood so give me a few days and I promise she'll be ready to take on Hollywood with me." Rich peered at Shane through squinted eyes before shrugging and agreeing.

"Alright but I'm counting on you Shane-O! You two need to be the next Brangelina!" Rich shouted as he walked to his car.

When Shane walked back over to Mitchie, she still had a confused look on her face.

"Brangelina? What is he talking about?" she asked.

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? Listen, instead of sightseeing, how about I take you shopping?"

"Well shopping sounds way more fun than sightseeing! Oh, maybe I can get something for Hayley too and-" Mitchie stopped for a moment. "That guy Rich, he didn't tell you to take me shopping did he? Because I don't wanna become one of those cliche Hollywood chicks who have over-processed hair and orange skin and-"

Shane stopped her rambling by planting his lips on hers. He pulled away and cupped her face with his hands.

"Babe, you're beautiful, okay? I would never want you to become one of those girls." Shane said with a comforting smile.

"Well in that case, I guess we should head to the mall!" Mitchie said excitedly.

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Shane sat outside of the dressing room in an Urban Outfitters boutique texting his mom to see how Hayley was doing.

He had already taken Mitchie to a few trendy boutiques and this was their last stop before they grabbed some lunch.

"So, how does this look?" Mitchie stepped out of the dressing room wearing a body hugging black dress. It was simple, with the exception of some faux diamond embroidery here and there, but very pleasing to Shane's eyes.

"Wow, it looks-" Shane straightened up and cleared his throat since his voice had came out cracking. "It looks amazing."

"Do you really think so? I mean, it's not too much?"

"No, no, you look amazing." Shane sat back and watched her as she modeled in the mirror. With Hayley and everything, sometimes Shane forgot Mitchie was only 24 years old and was what some teenage boys would consider a "MILF". He wondered if she too ever forgot she was still young. Having a kid made her mature for her age so maybe it'd be nice for, just the few weeks they'd be alone, for her to act her age?

Then again, going out clubbing was probably not the publicity Shane needed right now. The last thing he wanted was his dad calling him to yell for getting "negative press".

"Shane," Mitchie's voice snapped Shane out of his thoughts. While he was thinking, she had already changed back into the simple jeans and t-shirt she was wearing before.

"Oh, are you done? Here," Shane grabbed the dress out of her hands. "I'll go buy it and we can head out."

As they walked to the checkout counter Mitchie linked her arm with Shane's and let out a sigh.

"I kinda feel bad for letting you buy me all of these expensive clothes."

Shane smiled and laughed. "Mitchie, how many times do I have to tell you? It's not a big deal. Think of it as a boyfriend's gift to his girlfriend."

"Aw, how sweet." Mitchie gushed, giving him a peck on the cheek.

After Shane paid for the dress, he and Mitchie left the store and found a small crowd of paparazzi waiting for them. Mitchie was actually becoming kind of accustom to them since they had basically followed her and Shane around all day. With all of the craziness in the airport, Shane's manager and the impromptu shopping spree, Mitchie was ready to head to Shane's house and just sleep.

**\=/**

When Shane and Mitchie arrived at Shane's swanky home, after being showed around, Mitchie curled up in Shane's bed and quickly fell asleep. Shane decided while she napped, he would do something sweet for her like make dinner.

"Hm, let's see here..." Shane mumbled to himself as he flipped through an old cookbook he had received years ago as a housewarming gift. He flipped through the pages and decided simple spaghetti and meatballs sounded nice.

Before he started, he turned on the TV to have some noise in the background while he cooked. Shane knew he was no Iron Chef but the least he could do was try. He knew if it didn't come out well Mitchie would still appreciate the gesture.

Halfway through cooking, he heard footsteps coming into the kitchen. He turned away from the stove and saw Mitchie walking toward him, bedhead hair and everything.

"Have a nice nap?" he asked with a grin.

"Yeah, your bed is really comfy. Much better than the bed in your loft back in Phoenix." she said returning the grin. "So what are you doing here?"

Shane grabbed the pot of noddles off of the stove and poured them into a bowl he had set out on the counter.

"I am making us dinner!" he announced proudly. Mitchie laughed before turning her attention to the TV. Shane had it on MusicNewsNow and they were running through the day's top stories.

_"Mark this day in your calendars everyone, America's Bad Boy of Rock N Roll is back! Shane Gray of Connect Three was seen arriving at LAX today with a mystery woman on his arm. This comes after Shane left his brothers on Connect Three's world tour just two months ago for unknown reasons. And as if the spectacle he and his Jane Doe caused in LAX wasn't enough the two were seen shopping shortly after landing. Shane, never the one to show affection in public, was even seen exchanging smooches with his mystery girl. I've got a feeling we have a new candidate for Cutest Couple of the Year!"_

Mitchie couldn't figure out if her head was spinning because she had just waken up or because it was just now hitting her how life with Shane was going to be. Along with the paparazzi, TV shows like this would report her every move to millions of people nearly everyday. Mitchie was starting to wonder if moving in with Shane, becoming a part of his lifestyle, was such a smart idea.

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**Sorry if this chapter seemed short (well, it seemed short to me when I was writing it) and sorry it took so long to update! I promise I'll _TRY_ to update quicker (I know I say that a lot but this time I really mean it haha). Leave me a review telling me how much you loved (or loathed) this chapter and maybe...JUST MAYBE, they'll be a new, awesome-fantastic-super amazing Smitchie fic from me this weekend. ;]**

**Thanks for reading! :]**


	11. New Changes & Good Choices

**A/N: So I hate myself for typing this but I felt like I need to let you guys know why I don't update as quick as I could. Honestly, not to sound conceited or whatever, but I'm waiting for reviews. I only got 4 for the last chapter and that's a lot but considering I got 17 on my first chapter, its a little disappointing. So I don't know if my writing just started to suck or the storyline started to suck (which if either of those happened, someone should've sent me a PM about it or something lol) but...I don't know. Whatever, I just had to vent. NOW TO THE STORY! HAHA :)**

**Disclaimer: See other chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Eleven – New Changes & Good Choices**

Shane stared at Mitchie with a smile on his face. It was almost entertaining watching her push a meatball around her plate. What wasn't entertaining was the sad frown she had on her face. Shane placed his fork down on his plate and placed his hand on top of her's, which was resting on top of the dinner table.

Mitchie turned her attention from her plate of food to Shane. She saw his dark eyes staring at her, full of concern. She smiled lamely at him and took a sip of her water. She didn't want to bring it up but seeing herself on TV, having people make actual news about what she did that day, was really..._uncomfortable_. It almost creeped her out to think that people were fully informed about everything she had done that day. The only reason she didn't tell Shane about this was because she was, well, afraid. She knew he'd be totally understanding and tell her all these comforting words but how long could he keep doing that before he got tired of it? Sure he always said that all the things he did for her were no trouble but now that they were in his city, on his turf, would he still feel the same way? Why would he stay with Mitchie, spending all his time catering to her, when he could be with some actress or singer who was much prettier and more custom to his lifestyle? Mitchie just decided she would have to suck it up and try her best to roll with the punches.

"Are you okay?" Shane's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "You've hardly touched your food and you seem...out of it."

"I'm fine, I was just thinking, maybe we should do something fun tomorrow night. Like, go out to a nice little club or something?" Shane's eyebrows furrowed at her suggestion.

"Uh, sure, I guess. I mean, if you really want to-"

"Oh, I want to. It'll be nice to get a little break from being 'mommy'." Mitchie said taking another sip of her water.

Shane stared at her, slowly placing a fork full of pasta in his mouth. Never would he think Mitchie would suggest going out to a club. He had learned that she wasn't like any of the other girls he had dated before. She was more of a 'home-body' which he liked. He was a musician; he would be out and about all day so nothing appealed to him more than having a girlfriend he could just come home to and relax with. But then again, Shane hadn't been to a club in quite some time and he figured once he and Mitchie's week of freedom was up and Hayley was here, there wouldn't be too much clubbing.

The sound of Mitchie's fork crashing down on her plate took him out of his thoughts and he turned his attention to her.

"I'm heading to bed, do you wanna come with?" She asked standing up from the table.

Shane pushed himself away from the table a little bit and leaned back in his chair. "Nah, I think I'll stay here and clean up a little bit."

"Shane," Mitchie called out to him. "That really wasn't a question..."

Shane perked up in his seat finally catching on to what she was hinting at. "Oh, uh, let me just go brush my teeth. Nothing kills a mood like garlic breath." he joked running into the bathroom. Mitchie chuckled at him making her way to his bedroom.

**\=/**

"Ugh," Shane groaned squinting his already closed eyes shut. He heard his phone ringing and he recognized the special ringtone. It was his dad calling. He was so comfortable in bed, Mitchie resting on his chest, he really had no will to move.

"Shane, answer it." Mitchie muttered as she moved her head from his body to a pillow.

Shane groaned again and sat up, reaching over to his dresser, grabbing the phone and answering it. "Hello?"

"_Shane! Why the hell have you not been answering your phone?"_ Just as he expected, it was his dad and he was, as usual, upset.

"Sorry dad I'm just...tired." Shane said sparing his dad details.

"_Please tell me you're tired because you stayed up all night doing something productive." _A sly smile crept up onto Shane's face as if he dad could see him. He turned back to look at Mitchie, who was asleep and went back to the conversation.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"_I don't even have the time to deal with that. Look, I booked the studio for you today. You need to go work on some stuff, okay?"_

"Fine," Shane said with a long sigh.

"_Oh and, don't bring Mitchie. After the scene you guys caused yesterday, I don't want you going out with her just yet, okay? See you in a few days, son."_

Shane was about to protest his dad's request but he just didn't have the strength to. He was already tired and he'd have to spend all day in a studio, without Mitchie. He might have been twenty-four but his dad still treated him like he was sixteen. Shane pressed the 'End' button on his phone and rested it back on the dresser. All his sighing must have been pretty loud because he could feel Mitchie moving.

Mitchie, not being able to fall back asleep due to hearing Shane's conversation, reached down beside Shane's bed and grabbed the t-shirt he was wearing last night. She slipped the shirt over her head and crawled over to beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We're not spending the day together are we?" She asked blatantly. Shane shook his head. "Well that sucks."

"Tell me about it. And the worst part is, my dad doesn't even want us going out in public together which ruins the plans we had for tonight. I was going to take you to my favorite club and everything..." Shane trailed off.

"Shane you have got to stop letting your dad control you like this. You're way too old to let him have this much rule over your life." Mitchie's words took Shane by surprise. "You shouldn't have to do anything you don't want to and it seems like everything your dad wants you to do is something you don't want to do."

She was right and Shane knew it. If even she could see it, it must have been pretty obvious. Shane would have to start taking some control over his own life. "You know what Mitchie? You're absolutely right. Forget what my dad says, tonight you and I are going out!"

"Wait, what about today? Are you still going to the studio?" Mitchie asked watching as Shane stood, walking over to his closet to grab a shirt since she was wearing his old one.

"Your whole speech kinda inspired me so I wanna go and write a quick song while I'm still inspired." Shane saw Mitchie's lips form a frown. "But while I'm gone, you take my credit card and you go get your nails and hair done and get yourself a new outfit it you want one."

Shane handed Mitchie the black plastic card, kissed her on the forehead and disappeared into the bathroom. Just as she was in the midst of some serious pouting, she remembered her thoughts at dinner last night. She had to "adapt". And everyone knows that "adapting" is ninety percent looking the part. Maybe she could use tonight to show Shane a "New Mitchie".

**\=/**

Shane stood in front of the full-length mirror that was inside of his walk in closet and examined his outfit: red button-down dress-shirt paired with a black skinny tie and black blazer, dark straight-legged jeans and his favorite pair of his Steve Madden boots. He never usually dressed this nice to go out to a club but considering it'd be his first night out since he got back to L.A. he decided to dress for the occasion.

"Hey Mitchie are you almost ready? You've been in the bathroom for an hour and half. I'm sure whatever you think isn't perfect is..." Shane's sentenced trailed off as he turned around and saw her standing at the doorway of his closet.

"So, what do you think?" Shane muttered some incoherent phrases as he looked her up and down. Literally everything about her was perfect. Her dress, her heels, her hair and makeup: perfect. "Its not too much is it?"

"Oh no," Shane said quickly shaking his head. "You look amazing."

"Good. I was worried you wouldn't like it."

"How could I not like it? Like I said," He walked up to her and pushed some of her newly cut bangs out of her eyes. "You look amazing." With one more look he took her by the hands and took her from inside the closet into the living room.

"I called us a cab because I just assumed we'd both have a drink or two and I don't want us driving." Shane said grabbing his wallet and placing it in his back pocket. "I think its outside now. So we should probably get going–"

"Shane are you nervous?" Mitchie asked interrupting him. "You're starting to sound like me when I get nervous."

Shane's lips curled up into a small smile. "We're going out to a club against my dad's wishes, to say I'm nervous is a bit of an understatement. But don't worry. Once I get a drink in me, I'll relax and we'll have a good time, promise."

"Well then I guess we should get going so we can get you that drink ASAP." Mitchie said, pulling Shane toward the door by his skinny tie.

Within twenty minutes the couple had arrived at Parvenue, one of Shane's favorite clubs. He wasn't sure but he knew that there was a good chance he'd see some of his friends from the industry here. Back before the tour, they all used to hang out at this club.

After he paid the cab driver, Shane led Mitchie out of the cab and subsequently into a large crowd of flashing bulbs. Almost instinctively Shane tried to wrap a protective arm around Mitchie but was thrown off when she shrugged his gesture off. She instead turned to face them and gave cute little waves and smiles. Shane walked behind her slightly dumbfounded. Just twenty-four hours ago she hid from the paparazzi and now she was waving and smiling? It wasn't a bad thing but it definitely seemed slightly suspicious to him.

When they gained entrance into the club, the whole scene took Mitchie aback. Sure she had worked as a bartender but the bar she worked in was a sleepy little pub at best. This place was anything but sleepy. She felt Shane's breath on her ear, whispering words to her, but due to the sheer loudness of the earthshaking music which sounded like some remix of whatever popular dance song out now, she couldn't hear a thing. The flashing lights, which changed from blue to purple and different variations of those colors, nearly blinded her and the amount of people in the building was insane.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Shane tugging at her hand, leading her to a small table away from the DJ's booth, near the bar. Upon sitting, she discovered this corner of the club was somewhat quieter than the rest. At least now she could partially hear Shane.

"What would you like to drink?" He yelled to her trying to amplify his voice. Mitchie shrugged and smiled. "I'll get you something with peach in it. You like peach don't you?"

Not being able to fully understand what he was saying, Mitchie just smiled and nodded. Shane flashed her a toothy grin of his own and stood up, walking over to the bar. He leaned over the green illuminated counter waiting for a bartender to take his order. He had to admit, being in that position brought back some interesting memories of his time in Arizona.

"Shane Gray is that you?" Shane turned to see who had spoke those words. He looked around for a second before spotting a familiar face.

"Ashley? Oh wow," The tall brunette ran up to Shane, throwing her arms around him, embracing him a hug. "Nice to see you!"

"Nice to see you, too? What are you doing here? Partying with Luke and the boys?" She asked referring to Shane's label mate Luke Williams.

Shane shook his head, his hair slightly moving as well. He hadn't had a decent haircut since his stay in Arizona so his hair had grown a bit. "No I'm here with my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? You and Tess worked things out?"

"Not exactly..."

"Oh so you gave Peggy a chance?"

"You don't know her. I mean, if you want to meet her..."

"Of course! Any girl lucky enough to be dating my best friend Shane is deserving of my friendship."

"Cool, let me just get us some drinks first."

While Shane was away ordering drinks, Mitchie had taken the liberty of pulling out her cellphone and texting Nate to check up on Hayley. The younger Gray brother responded to her text with a silly picture of he and Hayley dressed up as a prince and princess. She giggled to herself before noticing Shane walking back to the table with their drinks...and an insanely tall, insanely gorgeous brunette. She stood up to greet Shane (and maybe this girl as well).

"Look who I found while I was getting drinks?" Shane asked with a huge grin on his face. "Mitchie, this is Ashley. She's a model who filmed a music video with Connect Three a while back. She's kinda a family friend. And Ashley, this is Mitchie, my girlfriend."

Ashley extended her hand which Mitchie grasped lightly and shook. There was something about the dumb grin on Shane's face when he was talking about this girl that didn't sit right with her. But she was a 'family friend' so it was probably best to play nice.

"Really nice to meet you Mitchie!" Ashley said ever so chipper.

"Likewise," Mitchie said, attempting to match her tone of voice.

Shane stood between the two girls with a smile on his face. This was great, he thought. Sure he had never mentioned Ashley to Mitchie before but he thought mentioning another woman to the one he was trying to win the affection of wasn't such a good idea. Now that they had met, however, Shane's head was filled with pretty little images of the two of them becoming best friends and all the amazing press that would come with that. Okay, maybe he was starting to think like his dad now but what better to way to help Mitchie adjust to his lifestyle with the press and paparazzi and everything than with the help from someone like Ashley who Shane trusted? Shane had full confidence that introducing the two was not only a good idea, but was one his dad would approve of. Mitchie wasn't the jealous type so what could possibly go wrong?

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**Hope everyone liked this chapter! Thanks for reading! (Please Review!)**


	12. People Change

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Twelve – People Change...**

After her and Shane's night out, and the next two after it, Mitchie felt...weird. Maybe it was because she hadn't seen Hayley in so long or maybe it was because she had been staying out for the past three nights getting tipsy or maybe it was because lately she hadn't been acting like herself or maybe it was all those things combined. Whatever the cause was, it was plaguing her thoughts.

She turned over and ran her hand over the empty space next to her in Shane's bed. He had left hours ago to go to the gym and had left Mitchie home alone to rest. He had apparently noticed how tired she was lately. Even though she was still quite young, her body just wasn't used to staying out drinking and dancing until the early hours of the morning but Shane seemed happier now that they were going out more so she wasn't about to complain and once again make him conform for her needs.

She also couldn't help but think about the fact that the words, 'they' or 'we' no longer applied to her and Shane. They now applied to her, Shane _and_ Ashley. Its not like Ashley was annoying or anything, she was actually very sweet but what girlfriend wouldn't be slightly worried about the fact that their boyfriend's best friend was not only a girl, but one who could probably snatch him right from under her if she wanted to. There was so much Mitchie was thinking about she almost didn't hear her phone ring.

"Hello?" She said answering the cellphone.

"_Hey, Mitch! Long time, no speak!"_

"Hey Nate. Gosh, I know. I'm so sorry for not calling and checking up on you guys its just been kinda crazy here in L.A."

"_Yeah, I've noticed. Hayley and I are making it a habit of watching you and Shane head into trendy night clubs on TV every night."_

Mitchie's throat tightened at the thought of her daughter watching her enter night clubs. She hoped there was no coverage of her leaving because she would not want her child to see her stumbling out of a club. "From now on, try sticking to watching Barney instead of E! News, okay?"

"_I will only if you promise to stick to going out to restaurants and not the latest 'happening' bar."_

"Nate, if you called to rag on me for going out then I suggest we end this conversation now."

"_That wasn't why I called...Okay maybe it was partially why but I really wanted to check up on you. Just judging by what I'm seeing on TV and the latest tabloids I happen to see-"_

"I'm fine Nate, really. Shane and I are just having a little fun before we have to be mommy and daddy in a week or so." Mitchie hated lying but she didn't want Nate to worry. She knew that if Nate was worried, he would rely the reason why he was worried to his mom and dad and they'd just think less of her.

"_Okay but if something is ever wrong, don't be afraid to call."_

It was killing Mitchie how concerned he sounded after she had just lied to him. "Thanks,"

"_Well, I better get going. I'm gonna be late for my play date with Hayley. Tell Shane and Ashley I said hi. Oh, mom and dad say hi too."_

"Wait, Nate, can I ask you something?"

"_Sure, anything."_

Mitchie didn't want to ask this question but she felt like she had to. The little green jealously monster inside of her needed to know. "Was there ever anything between Shane and Ashley? You know, like...romantically?"

She heard Nate chuckle on the other line. _"Nah, never. They've always been friends, best friends. I think they had a crush on each other at one point but Shane always had a new girlfriend every week, Ashley never wanted to risk ruining their friendship." _Mitchie sort of sighed to herself. _"Don't worry Mitchie, Shane wouldn't leave you for Ashley or anyone else. He's crazy about you."_

"Thanks for the confirmation Nate." Mitchie said smiling into the phone as if he could see. "I'll talk to you later."

She placed her phone back on the dresser next to her as she ended the conversation with Nate. Best friends. There was something that still bothered Mitchie about Shane and Ashley being 'best friends'. Shouldn't she be his best friend? Or maybe Nate was talking in past tense as in, they _were_ best friends but aren't anymore. Maybe she'd never know unless she asked the man himself.

**\=/**

Shane laid on the workout bench lifting the heavy weights above his head, his eyebrows furrowed not because the workout was hard, but because he was deep in thought. Even though he knew he was doing no wrong, that he wouldn't ever think about cheating on Mitchie, he felt wrong not telling her that he was going to workout with Ashley. At the time it seemed like extra information she didn't need to know but now that he thought about, it seemed kind of sketchy that he would leave that out.

"Hey, you almost done here?" Ashley's voice cut through Shane's thoughts. He rested the weights on the rests and sat up to face her.

"Yeah, just about. I think I've gotten a good enough workout for today." Shane said looking down at his glistening biceps. Ashley handed him a towel and took a seat on the bench that was directly in front of him.

"So, you must tell me, how did you meet Mitchie?" She said crossing her legs, ready to hear the story.

Shane wiped his face and shook his head. "You really wanna talk about me and Mitchie? How about we talk about you? What have you been up to lately?"

"Psh, I'm always going to forever be a music video girl. My life sucks and is boring. Now, tell me about Mitchie!" She gushed slapping him on the knee.

"You really wanna know?" She nodded. "Like, the honest to God truth?" Again, she nodded. Shane took a deep breath and flung the towel around his neck. "Well about two years ago, around the time of Connect Three's last world tour, we stopped in Phoenix, Arizona and it just so happened to be Nate's birthday so we took him out and got him drunk. We stopped at this little bar. It was a desert in there, no one in sight. So while Nate was having fun being drunk, Jason and I ordered some beers for this bartender. She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She had long shiny brown hair, the biggest chocolate brown eyes I've ever seen and the biggest, brightest, most amazing smile in the entire world. And when she asked us what we wanted to drink, her voice literally sounded like a thousand angelic harps to me, not even joking. So me and Jason order our drinks and he tries to tell me she's not interested in me and like the persistent guy I am, I didn't listen. So Jason goes to take care of Nate who was a hot mess by now and me and this bartender start talking..."

"_So, who are those guys?" the bartender asked Shane, nodding toward Jason and Nate who were currently fighting over a song to play on the jukebox._

"_My brothers. The one with the 'fro is Nate and the one with the awesome sideburns is Jason. We're celebrating Nate's birthday by getting him drunk. It's all brotherly fun." Shane explained staring intently at the bartender._

"_If its all brotherly fun, why are you sitting here instead of over there sharing the fun with your brothers?" She asked with a smirk on her face._

"_Because I'd really regret not being here talking to you." Shane said smoothly before taking a sip of his beer._

_The bartender, earlier Shane had learn her name was Mitchie, shook her head and smiled. "You're quite the smooth talker Mr. Rockstar."_

_Shane squinted his eyes at her. "Wait, you know who I am?"_

"_Doesn't everyone know Connect Three, beloved teeny boy band?"_

"_Hey, there is nothing teeny about us or our music."_

"_Oh really? Isn't your latest song about 'partying on the weekend'? You guys are way too old to be singing crap like that."_

"_Okay and what is it exactly that you'd like us to sing about Miss Mitchie?" Shane asked taking another swig of his beer._

_Mitchie scrunched up her nose as she thought causing Shane to hold back a smile that was forming on his lips. Even though in some small way this girl was insulting him and his music, she looked damn cute doing it. "I don't know, just sing something with meaning, you know?"_

"_Okay," Shane finished off his beer and slapped his hands down the the bar counter. "How about tonight, I write a song about...about the feeling you get when you think you've just had that 'love at first sight' moment? The song can be about how when you first lay eyes on someone you're so taken aback by their beauty that you've forgotten the faces of every other girl that you've ever met. How when you see their smile, not even the brightest stage lights can compare. How when you hear their voice, it makes the sleeping butterflies in your stomach awaken and flutter around like there's not tomorrow. How even though they insult you and everything your band stands for, there is a part of you that wants to know everything possible about this person. How about that?"_

_Mitchie stared at him, her eyes wide with wonder and slight smile on her face. She snapped out of her trance and walked over to the opposite side of the bar, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she did. Shane followed her and took a seat on a barstool where she could see him._

"_What do you want, huh?" She asked turning to him._

"_Come back to my hotel room." Shane asked with a smile. Once again, Mitchie's nose crinkled as she pondered his offer._

"_I'm guessing if I go, we aren't going to be writing that song are we?" Shane sheepishly shook his head, his eyebrow raised. "Eh, what the hell? You've sweet talked me enough and its not like I have better things to be doing..."_

_Shane smiled to himself as he watched Mitchie walk from behind the counter to the side of him. "Just tell your brothers to leave, I'll lock up and we can go back to yours."_

"...And the rest is kinda history." Shane finished, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Ashley stared at him with an confused expression.

"How is the rest history? I mean, we hung out after that tour finished and you never mentioned anything about her. Shane, I know there's something you're not telling me so, spill."

Shane though to himself for a second. Ashley was his best friend; he trusted her. The only people who knew about Hayley were his family but, Ashley was family to him so doesn't that mean she should know? He saw no harm in telling her, he just wasn't sure how Mitchie would feel about it. Then again, just judging from the times they hung out, Mitchie seemed to like Ashley so again, there was no harm.

"Okay fine," Shane stood up, grabbed Ashley by the elbow and pulled her into a secluded area of the gym. "After we hooked up, I kinda left her there and never even tried to contact her. That was until this past tour when we passed through Phoenix again and there was something in me that just had to see her. When we met up again, she didn't want to have anything to do me but you know me, I'm never one to just give up that easy. So I stayed behind in Phoenix and tried my best to win her over. When I finally did I ended up finding out that we had a kid together, her name's Hayley and she's too adorable. And that's pretty much the whole story."

Ashley stared at Shane with wide eyes. She shook her head as if she was trying to comprehend all of the information he had just given her. Shane stood there nervous, waiting for her response.

"So that why you left tour, for Mitchie?" Shane nodded. "And you guys have a kid together?"

"Yes but you have to promise me you will not tell anyone. She's not here in L.A. she's back home with my parents and Nate. She's probably gonna be here in a week or so but I really wanted to tell the public about her before she got here so there isn't a media circus when she does come." Shane pleaded. When Ashley didn't say anything, he clasped his hands together and looked her in the eyes. "Please, Ash, promise me."

"Alright, I promise. Can we get out of here?" Shane watched as Ashley walked over to their gym bags, grabbed hers and headed for the exit. He didn't know why she was acting this way but there was a part of him that didn't want to know.

**\=/**

Ashley paced back and forth in her living room. Ever since she left the gym with Shane, she had been doing this for hours now. It was hard to continue with her routine of 'gym, shower and then lunch' when all she could think about is the conversation she had with Shane at the gym.

She had known the Gray family since before Connect Three blew up. She was in their first music video for one of their first singles so she had known the boys since they were still teenagers. They were so passionate about their music back then and now, it seemed to her as if that passion was no longer there, at least for Shane.

When she first heard that Shane just dropped out of Connect Three's second world tour because of a 'throat issue', she knew there was something more behind the story. Every time she called Jason and Nate to see what was really going on, they stuck with the throat story and neither Shane's parents or his friends of the staff at the record label knew what was going on. It was like Shane gave up on his musical duties. Now that she knew the true reason why he dropped the tour, she couldn't help but think about Shane differently.

Interrupting her own pacing, she grabbed her cellphone and dialed Shane's number.

"_Hey, Ashley!"_

"Shane, look I know we just got through hanging out but I was thinking if we could meet for lunch and talk-"

"_Sorry Ash, I was planning on taking Mitchie out to lunch."_

"Well, can I tag along? Then maybe all three of us could talk."

"_Uh, I was kinda hoping it'd be just the two of us."_ Ashley went silent. He couldn't see but her mouth was hanging open. _"But maybe we can do lunch some other time, okay?"_

"Yeah, maybe." Without saying goodbye, Ashley hung up her cellphone. Suddenly, she knew the exact reason why she thought about Shane differently. He was no longer her best friend and she was no longer his. He and Mitchie were now 'BFFs'. Music wasn't his first priority anymore, Mitchie was. Shane wasn't the same Shane she knew and loved and it was because of Mitchie.

**\=/**

Shane stared at his phone with a grimace. Why would Ashley just hang up like that? Before he could dwell on it any longer, he noticed Mitchie standing in his bedroom doorway.

"Is there something wrong with your phone?" She asked seeing the look his was giving his phone.

"No, its fine. I think there's something wrong with the person I was talking to, though." He said sliding his phone into his back pocket. He walked up to Mitchie, wrapping his arms around her waist as she threw her arms around his neck. "But I can't worry about that now because I have to take a certain someone out to lunch."

"Just the two of us?" Mitchie asked causing Shane to fret in confusion.

"Of course, who else would..." Shane released his hold on her and walked over to the bed to sit. He rubbed his face with his hands before looking back up at Mitchie. "I'm so sorry Mitch. I'm such a horrible boyfriend. I can't believe I've been dragging Ashley along with us all these nights..."

"You're not a bad boyfriend Shane," She assured him, taking a seat next to him. "You were just excited to catch up with your best friend. She _is_ your best friend, isn't she?"

Shane looked up at her with a slight smile on his face. "Are you...jealous?"

Mitchie shot up from the bed and stood in front of Shane with her arms folded over her chest. "Sorry but I do not get jealous."

"Aw, that's so cute! You _are _jealous!" Shane gushed.

"Cute? How is that cute? I've been feeling like your number two ever since Ashley started hanging out with us and...its just not a good feeling." She confessed. Shane stood up and engulfed her small body in a giant hug.

"It's cute because you should know that you'll always be my number one." He said before giving her a peck on the forehead.

Mitchie eased in his arms. It felt nice to hear him say those words. Now she felt kind of silly for even worrying about Ashley. She should know that Shane wouldn't just cheat on her when he tried so hard to get her in the first place.

As Shane held Mitchie in his arms, he couldn't help but think about Ashley. He didn't even realize how awkward he was making Mitchie feel by bringing her along all the nights they went out. She had to sit there and listen to the two of them reminisce about all the fun times they had back in the day. He felt like a complete idiot. Then he started to think about the previous conversation he had just had with Ashley. There were rare times that he turned down an offer from her to hang out to be with his girlfriend but usually when he did, he wouldn't get that type of reaction out of Ashley. She just hung up in his face. She didn't say goodbye or anything. There was something different about her ever since their conversation in the gym but just like one of Connect Three's most famous songs said, 'people change and promises are broken...'. He just really hoped Ashley wouldn't break the promise she made to him.

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**So there are review replies on my profile. You should go check those out! I hoped everyone liked this chapter! (Ten cookies to whoever can guess what the title of the next chapter is. The last line is a hint ;]) So..yeah, review please!**

**Thanks for reading! :]**


	13. Promises Are Broken

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters. Oh, and I don't own the song "Hello, I'm In Delaware". Dallas Green does…lucky guy.**

**Arizona**

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**Chapter Thirteen – Promises Are Broken**

"Shane, I'm going to puke. I just know I am." Mitchie said resting her hand on her stomach. "I'm not ready for this."

Shane waited for the stagehand to finish placing a mic on him before walking up to Mitchie, grabbing her hands in his.

The two of them were minutes away from giving their very first interview as a couple. Rich had set it up weeks ago and they spent the time leading up to today preparing Mitchie for the various questions that could be thrown at her. Even with all the preparations, she still didn't feel confident about giving the interview.

"You're not going to puke, okay? You're going to go out there with me and we will charm America into loving us more than they love YouTube videos of babies doing stupid stuff." Mitchie couldn't help but smile at Shane's words. "Ah ha, there's the smile I love."

"Okay fine, maybe I'm not going to puke but I don't think I'm going to talk much once we get out there."

"You don't have to. I'll do all the talking. All this interview is for is just a way to introduce you as my girlfriend in grand fashion. Its not big deal, really. This whole thing will go smoothly, I promise." Shane said nonchalantly. Before he could say anything else, a stagehand came into the greenroom and informed them that it was their time to go on. Shane felt Mitchie grip his hand tightly as they exited the room and walked down the long hallway to the stage. They stood in front of a black curtain where they could hear everything that was going on: the host, James Conway, introducing them and the roar of the crowd which sounded like teenage girls excited to see Shane.

"…And now, my next guests, please help me welcome Shane Gray and Mitchie Torres!"

Shane took one last look at Mitchie, giving her a wink and a smile, before he lead her out from behind the curtain and to in front of the cameras and the audience.

When they walked out, Shane waved to the crowd before shaking hands with James. Mitchie simply smiled at the crowd, mainly because she didn't know if it was appropriate to wave, its not like she was famous or anything, and then exchanged cheek kisses with James. She and Shane walked over to the guest couch and took a seat, ready to get this interview over with.

"So, Shane, its great to see you again!" James said in that signature overly excited voice he was known for.

"It's great to see you too man. It's great to see everyone. I'm really glad all the fans could come out." Shane replied with a smile. Mitchie watched him, amazed. He was so good at this but its not like she expected him not to be.

"Well of course they came out! They're all so excited to meet Miss Torres!" A cheer from the audience accompanied James' words. Mitchie smiled politely and tightened her grip on Shane's hand. "So, please, Mitchie, tell us about yourself."

Mitchie stared blankly for a second forgetting her entire life story. Once she snapped out of her daze, she shifted on the couch and prepared to answer. "Well, I'm twenty-four, I'm from Phoenix-"

"Wait, Shane, isn't that the stop on Connect Three's world tour where you left?" James interrupted to ask.

"Uh, yeah it is." Shane answered coolly.

"So does Mitchie have anything to do with the 'illness' you caught that caused you to leave the tour?" James slyly asked.

"Okay, let me just ask the guys in the audience something." Shane turned his body away from James to face the audience. "Look at her, would you leave a world tour for her? I mean, come on, she's gorgeous."

Shane's question earned some claps and whistles from the men in the audience, which made Mitchie really hope she wasn't blushing too much right now.

"Alright, alright. I think we can agree with you there." James said. "And, I don't want to put you on the spot but I have to ask, are you two in love?"

Shane turned and looked at Mitchie, a huge grin growing on his face. "Absolutely." He answered surely.

"Huh, I see. So is it real love or is it obligated love seeing as how you two have a child together." The smile from both Shane and Mitchie's faces fell and the crowd gasped. "You two look like you've just seen a ghost! I mean, surely you had to expect me to ask about little Hayley."

The cocky smirk on James' face was angering Shane. He was balling his free fist as he tried to think of something to say. All he could come up with was, "How'd you know about Hayley?"

"Come on Shane, this is Hollywood. Nothing stays a secret for long." James said matter-of-factly. "Now, tell us about little Hayley. Do you have pictures? We'd love to see-"

Without warning, Shane stood up, bringing Mitchie with him. He reached down his button-up shirt and pulled on the microphone wire. There were some static noises before he was sure he had completely disconnected the device. He walked offstage, taking Mitchie with him. He didn't bother to turn back to look at James but he was sure he looked just as stunned as the audience did.

When the two got backstage an in the greenroom, they were greeted by a very pissed off Rich.

"What the hell was that Shane?" Rich asked angrily.

"What the hell was that? Are you seriously asking me that?" Shane released his grip on Mitchie's hand to rub his face with both of his hands. Mitchie, completely overwhelmed, took a seat in a nearby chair. "Rich, I want to know how he found out about Hayley and I want to know now."

There were rare times Shane got angry but he was beyond angry right now. His face was flustered and his hands were balled in tight fists. Rich read his body language and held his hands up in defense. "Look, Shane, I don't know how he knew okay? But I will find out-"

Just as Rich was about to finish his sentence, James came storming into the greenroom. He grabbed Shane by the shoulder and spun him around to face him.

"Hey, Mister Rock Star, who do you think you are to leave my set when the interview isn't even over?" James asked. Shane couldn't help but laugh even though he was thoroughly irritated with this man.

"Who are you to ask me questions about my daughter? Not only did you tell America that I have a daughter but you gave them her name too. I don't even know how you're gonna sleep tonight." Shane said coldly.

"Oh I'm gonna sleep like a baby. You disappeared for months without telling your fans your whereabouts and I just think they deserve to know the truth."

"Who are you to decide that? I'll decide what I want people to know and what I don't want them to know!" Shane was yelling inches away from James' face now.

"You know what? I don't blame you. If I had a bastard child with some unknown bar skank from Arizona I'd be trying to hide it too."

Before Rich could jump in the middle, Shane's fist had already connected with James' jaw. The TV host dropped straight to the floor as Rich stepped in front of Shane and backed him away from the fallen interviewer.

Mitchie, who was still seated, felt her eyes start to burn. She didn't know why she was crying but she couldn't stop the teardrops from rolling down her cheeks. Shane looked over to her and hung his head in shame.

"Rich, can you have our stuff sent over to my house?" Rich nodded even though Shane couldn't see. The younger man walked over to Mitchie and held his hand out to her, helping her up. The two of them walked out of the studio in silence.

**\=/**

The car ride home was completely silent. Neither one of them didn't know what to say about what had just taken place. It was a lot to comprehend. When Shane pulled into his driveway he noticed the crowd of paparazzi already outside of the gates of his home. He opened the drive-in garage and parked his car there instead to give he and Mitchie an escape from the paps.

When he stopped the car, neither one of them exited. They both just sat in their seats, staring forward.

"I'm so sorry." Shane said, his voice dry. Mitchie looked over to him with tear-stained cheeks as if to ask 'for what'. "I promised you that the interview would go smoothly and it didn't."

"Shane that wasn't your fault. That guy is an ass." Mitchie said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah but I can't help but feel responsible." Shane said banging his hands on the steering wheel.

"How can you feel responsible? He did some snooping and found out about Hayley. You couldn't have prevented that." Mitchie's understanding words made something in Shane's brain click. He straightened up in his seat, jumped out of the car, pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed a number.

He entered his home, angrily stomping his way to the living room waiting for an answer on the other line.

"_Hello?"_

"You told James Conway. You told him everything. You told about Hayley, you told him how I met Mitchie. I trusted you," Shane said, his voice laced with hurt. "How could you do this Ashley?"

There was silence on the other line before he heard some movement. _"I'm sorry Shane. I did it out of anger. If I could take it back I would."_

"You promised you wouldn't tell." He reminded her.

"_Shane, I can't say sorry enough. I never meant to hurt you-"_

"Of course you didn't. You meant to hurt Mitchie." Shane said with a dry laugh. "I get it now. You want her gone. You want me all to yourself. I would've stayed friends with you Ashley. Nothing would've changed between us but now you've gone and messed that up. Do me a favor and just stay away."

Shane didn't even give Ashley a chance to explain herself before he hung up his cellphone. He was so wrapped up in his conversation he didn't hear Mitchie come in.

"You told Ashley about Hayley?" Her voice surprised him. He turned around and saw her standing with a look of confusion. "Why would you do that?"

"Well I knew I could trust her," Shane stated.

"Obviously you were wrong because she went and told." Mitchie said, her voice sounding a little irate.

"What happened to what you said in the car, about none of this being my fault?" Shane asked defensively.

"That was before I knew you told some girl something that was supposed to be just between us."

"She was going to find out sometime, Mitchie! The whole world was! What, did you think when Hayley got here people weren't gonna ask?" Shane yelled.

"Maybe I wanted them to find out when I was ready for them to-"

"So what, you were going to keep Hayley in Jersey until you were ready? She's already been there for nearly a month!" Shane interrupted. He walked closer to her, stopping about a foot away from her. "You know you never once asked me how I felt about this whole situation? I don't want Hayley at my parents' house. I want her here with us. I want us to be a family but no, we have to do what Mitchie wants. You know, I think you're ashamed. You're ashamed to be with me and you're ashamed that we had Hayley-"

"Don't you dare try and imply that I'm ashamed of my daughter because I'm not." Mitchie said wagging her finger in his face.

Without thinking, Shane slapped Mitchie's hand from out of his face. "I wouldn't have to imply anything if you'd just _pretend_ that you want to actually have a family with me. You know, I'm starting to wonder if going back to see you, giving up on the tour, pissing off my dad and a lot of other people was really worth it."

Mitchie stared at Shane with a blank expression. She wasn't angry with him, she wasn't upset, and she wasn't crying, she was just numb. She didn't feel like she was looking at Shane anymore. She felt like she was looking at Ken and she had learned to keep her feelings numb around Ken.

"I knew all this was too good to be true. Good things just don't happen to me." Mitchie said, tears now rolling down her face. "I worked in a stupid bar. I stupidly slept with some guy I barely knew. I had a kid before I was ready to be a parent. I fell in love with a guy who used to beat me and then fell in love with the same guy who dumped me in a hotel room two years ago. You know maybe the people around me aren't the problem. Maybe I'm the problem."

Shane blinked the tears that were forming in his eyes away and immediately felt a kick in his gut. He really didn't mean to say all those things. He didn't mean to slap her hand away, all those things just happened. He was just so angry with James and Ashley he took it out on the one person he loved.

He reached out to grab her but she stepped away, her arms folded over her chest defensively.

"I have enough money to get a flight to Jersey to get Hayley and then to Texas so I can stay with my mom while I work out the rest of my life." She said quietly. Shane stared at her in disbelief. He swiftly ran up to her, wrapping his arms around her. She looked away, avoiding eye contact.

"Don't do this, don't leave me, Mitchie. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to take out my anger on you. I just…just please don't leave me." Shane was full on sobbing now.

"What are we doing Shane?" She asked, reluctantly letting her eyes meet his. "How can we be a couple when-"

"Don't question us. We're a good couple, okay?"

"Shane, don't lie to yourself. We're anything but good. We're not married but we have a kid. You have a career that I'm basically ruining for you. We just can't work out…"

"Mitchie, please don't give up on us. Everything that happened in Phoenix, everything with Ken, don't let that be for nothing. I love you and I know you love me. Please, babe, don't give up." Shane pleaded resting his forehead on hers. "If getting married will make you feel better, we can go get married right now. And forget my career. You and Hayley are the only important things in my life-"

"No, I'm not about to let you ruin your career for me." Mitchie protested.

Shane released his grip on her and wiped his face free of tears. He composed himself quickly before running into his bedroom. He opened his closet and grabbed a shoebox that was tucked away in a corner underneath piles of shoes. He went back into the living room and reoccupied his place in front of Mitchie.

"Shane what are you doing?" She asked seeing the strange look he had on his face.

He opened the shoebox and threw its top on the floor. He turned the box over, emptying its contents on the floor. What seemed like hundreds of pieces of paper fell onto the floor.

"Three hundred. Since the day I left you in that hotel room I have written three hundred songs about you." Mitchie bent down and picked up one of the papers from off of the floor. The words _'Hello, I'm In Delaware'_ scribbled across the top.

"My body aches, and it hurts to sing, and no one is moving, and I wish that I weren't here tonight but this is my life." She read off of the paper.

"I wrote that one after a concert in Delaware, seventeen days before I knew we were going to Phoenix." Shane explained. "We're not the perfect couple, I get that, but we love each other and we love Hayley and-"

Shane was interrupted by Mitchie embracing him in a hug. "I'm sorry for even thinking about leaving you. I just got scared, you know? Everything that happened tonight just happened so fast so I just stared making irrational decisions and…I'm just so sorry."

"Its okay, Mitchie." Shane said hugging her closely into his chest. "My promises may not mean much anymore but I promise from here on out things are gonna get better. I promise."

**\=/**

**Well, I just felt like that entire chapter was lame. HAHA I literally rewrote this entire chapter eight times. EIGHT. It had all kind of crazy endings and junk…it was a hot mess. Haha. I don't particularly like this chapter but I wanted to update and this kind of gives me something good to work with for the next couple of chapters. (There might only be two left! D:) Yeah…this story is kinda coming to a close…very sad. :(**

**Thanks for reading! :]**


	14. Nate The Great

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Fourteen – Nate The Great**

Mitchie buzzed around the kitchen trying her best not to burn Shane's entire house down. She was never an excellent cook but she at least thought she was good enough to wear she wouldn't cause smoke damage to Shane's home.

The pan she was currently frying bacon in was smoking and seemed like it just wouldn't stop. She began to fan at it with her hands as she reached to turn the stove off when she heard a chuckle behind her. She turned around and saw Shane standing, laughing at her.

"You think this is funny?" She asked folding her arms over her chest.

Shane shook his head, covering his mouth with a hand to muffle his laughter. "Can I just ask what you are doing? You know, besides trying to destroy our home."

Mitchie walked over to the kitchen counter, throwing her apron on the top of it. "I was _trying_ to cook you breakfast. I felt like doing something special for you after all of last night's drama. But, as you can see, that didn't work out too well…"

"Well while I would love to eat burnt pancakes and charred bacon, how about I take us out for breakfast?" Shane noticed the slight twitch in Mitchie's face when he mentioned going out. "We don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I do. It's just…" She trailed off, her hands instinctively hiding her flustered face. Shane walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her. After all of the drama from the previous night, he understood any objection she had to leaving the comfort of home.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, I completely understand." He released his grip on her, resting his hand on the kitchen counter. "To be honest, I'm not excited to head out either. I just know the paparazzi are gonna be out in full force trying to snap a picture of me after my 'meltdown'."

"Aw Shane," She cooed, cupping his face with her hands and bringing his lips to meet hers. "If it makes you feel any better, I thought your meltdown was adorable."

"Wow, thanks." He said sarcastically with a smile. Just as he was about to bend down and give her another kiss, there was a knock at the door. He groaned and ran over to answer it. When he swung the door open, he saw no one standing there…until he felt something wrap itself around his legs.

"Hi daddy!" Shane looked down and saw Hayley wrapped around his left leg. He looked around behind her but saw no one in sight.

"Uh, hey, baby." He bent down and picked the little girl up. "How'd you get here?"

Before Hayley could answer, Nate appeared from around the corner, fumbling suitcases and travel bags in his hands and around his body.

"Oh, no, don't help me or anything. Leave me here to suffer!" Nate yelled out to Shane. The elder Gray brother placed Hayley on the doorstep and ran over to Nate.

"What in the world are you two doing here?" Shane asked grabbing the tiny pink suitcases out of Nate's hands. After catching his breath, Nate stood up straight ready to answer.

"Long story short, dad saw you on the James Conway Show and flipped shit. I mean, if you thought he was mad that one time when that venue in Colorado tried to cancel our show…he was like a million times more pissed. He was red and yelling, gosh, it was horrible." Nate explained.

"I still don't get why you and Hayley are here…in Los Angeles."

"Look, I was being a good uncle, okay? I didn't think Hayley should be around 'angry grandpa' so I booked a flight last night and here we are!" Nate said while walking up to Hayley who was still patiently waiting on the doorstep. "Let's go inside, kiddo." Nate guided Hayley into Shane's home while Shane followed behind.

"Shane, not _all_ of these pancakes are –"

"Mommy!" Mitchie, who was examining the degree of 'burnt' of her pancakes, turned around sharply and saw Hayley running to her.

"Hayley?" She questioned, bending down to hug the little girl. She looked toward the door and saw Nate and Shane standing.

"Gosh, I just love mother-daughter moments." Nate said wiping away the invisible tear on his face. Shane playfully hit him in the chest.

"Mommy, I have so many stories to tell you. Me and Uncle Nate had the best time with Grandma." Hayley said all in one breath.

"I can't wait to hear them, sweetie. I am so happy to see you!" Mitchie told the little girl, looking her up and down, looking for any changes.

"Hey, Mitchie." Nate waved from across the room.

"Hey Nate. Good to see you." Mitchie said, walking toward the two Gray brothers with Hayley beside her. "What are you two doing here?"

"Issues with Dad. I decided it'd be best if we were here with you guys instead." Nate explained again.

"Wait, we?" Shane repeated, catching the 'we' in Nate's sentence.

Nate nervously rubbed the back of his neck, giving a nervous chuckle. Mitchie, sensing there were some brotherly issues that needed to be straightened out, pulled Shane aside, away from Nate and Hayley.

"Shane, instead of you and I going out, how about you and Nate go out. You two need some brother time." She whispered to him.

"But what about you and Hayley?" He asked.

"You can be with us _after_ you spend some time with Nate. Now, go." She said pushing his back toward Nate.

It wasn't like Shane didn't want to spend time with Nate. He was his younger brother after all. He just would rather spend time with Hayley and Mitchie. But even if he didn't want to admit it, Mitchie was right.

"Give me five minutes to throw some sweatpants on and you and I are going out to breakfast." Shane said to Nate whose face lit up at the mention of breakfast with his older brother. He knew breakfast wouldn't be as pleasant as he would like it to be due to the fact he had quite a bit to tell Shane but still, it would be nice to spend some 'bro-time' with Shane.

**\=/**

Shane sat watching Nate scarf down the last of his pancakes. Even though he was the smaller of the two, Nate ate way more than Shane did. When he was finished, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned his attention to Shane.

"Phew, that was delicious. We should do this more often." Nate commented rubbing his full stomach.

"So what's the real story? Why are you and Hayley really here?" Shane asked bluntly, not trying to make polite conversation with Nate.

Nate shifted in his side of the booth. "Why does there have to be some alternative reason as to why we're here? Why can't I just be a responsible Uncle and –"

"Nate," Shane interrupted in a warning tone.

"Fine," Nate held his hands up in defense. "Dad just can't seem to get over the fact that you and Mitchie are for real. He still hopes that you guys will break up and I just got tired of him saying all these rude things about you and Mitchie in front of Hayley. He already acted like she didn't exist, which was messed up because let me just say, you and Mitchie did an awesome job at creating one kick-ass little kid. Anyway, after your little breakdown on Conway's show, Dad went off. I'm talking cursing, throwing stuff…it reminded of me of back when he would get mad at you for breaking curfew. Yeah, well, he just wouldn't shut up so I told him off and he kicked me out."

"What do you mean 'told him off'?" Shane repeated unbelievingly.

"It was something along the lines of, 'You're just pissed because now that Mitchie's around, Shane has someone else to worry about pleasing rather than pleasing you.'" Nate said nonchalantly.

"And that made him kick you out?" Shane asked. "I've said worse things to him and he's never even threatened to kick me out."

"Well I might have also told him to fuck off but…" Nate trailed off. Shane ran his fingers through his shaggy hair and relaxed in his side of the booth.

"Nate…" He said, sounding like he was preparing a huge speech.

"I know you're gonna say I shouldn't have done it but it was with good intentions, I swear."

"No, you shouldn't have done it." Shane's words caused Nate to lower his head. "But I'm glad you did."

Nate's head popped back up in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"You were looking out for me and my family and I appreciate it. You've done a lot for me, looking after Hayley, making sure she doesn't get too exposed to Dad's tirades…if you need a place to stay, for however long, you're more than welcome at my house." Shane said with a smile.

"Thanks man," Nate replied with a smile of his own. "But that's not the only reason I'm here."

"There's more?" Shane asked horrified.

"Like I told Dad, you and Mitchie are the real thing. You guys are in love, right?" Shane nodded slowly unsure of where the conversation was going. "Then why is she not my sister-in-law?"

Shane's lips twisted into a confused smirk. He wasn't sure how to answer that question. He had only ever tried to propose to Mitchie once and that was because he wanted to piss off his dad, not because he wanted to propose. And the only other time the topic of marriage came up was usually during arguments Shane and Mitchie had so it had become somewhat of a sour subject to him.

"I don't know. I don't see why we have to get married. Just being boyfriend and girlfriend works fine. Why do we need a piece of paper to validate our love?" Shane finally answered.

"Do you not remember anything from the lectures Mom used to give us? You and Mitchie are living in sin right now. And I could be wrong but, don't you want to make it to heaven?" Nate reminded him.

"Do you realize how much of a hypocrite you are right now? You're criticizing me for living with someone I'm not married to yet you just told your own father to 'fuck off'." Shane pointed out causing Nate to slump over in his seat. "Besides, I don't think Mitchie really wants to get married either."

"Shane, Mitchie is a woman. All women want to get married. It's been scientifically proven. If you don't believe me, Google it."

"Okay fine, maybe she does want to get married but…I haven't even met her parents!"

Nate scoffed at his older brother. "Okay, now you're just searching for reasons _not_ to marry her. Look, bottom line is, you love her and she loves you. You two were meant to be together so make it official and just marry her already." Shane didn't respond to his words. "Like Beyoncé said, if you like you better put a ring on it. If you don't, don't get mad once you see that some other guy want it."

Shane threw a balled up napkin at Nate. "Alright fine, I'll…I'll put a ring on it." He said mocking Nate's earlier comment.

"Good. Now, we have some planning to do." Nate said standing up from the booth.

"Planning?" Shane repeated.

"Yeah. You have to know the kind of ring you're gonna get her, how you're gonna propose, where you're gonna do it –"

"It's really scary how you know all that." Shane commented interrupting him. Nate silently mocked him and waited for him to stand as well. The two brothers left the diner, buzzing about Shane's imminent proposal to Mitchie.

**\=/**

Mitchie sat on the couch watching some lame reality TV show on MTV but it was mostly on as background noise. She was actually more concerned with watching Hayley sleep. After the little girl had informed Mitchie of all of the fun things she did while away, she ate a small box of animal crackers that was packed away in her carry on and fell asleep next to Mitchie on the couch. She missed doing this, watching Hayley sleep. She had been away from the little girl so long she had missed the little things she used to be able to do with her. Interrupting her watching, there was a knock on the door. She figured it was Shane and Nate coming back from their breakfast outing. She quietly moved off of the couch and went to answer the door. She opened the door and only saw Nate standing in front of her.

"Quick question, how fast can you pack a suitcase to go stay somewhere for, I don't know…a week or so?" Nate asked. Mitchie furrowed her brows at him.

"Nate, what are you talking about?" She asked.

"You know what? I think it's better if Shane tells you. He's in the car. You go talk to him while I go pack." Without letting her get a word out, Nate pushed her outside towards Shane's Range Rover and swiftly ran inside, shutting the door behind him. Mitchie, extremely confused, walked over to Shane's car and hopped in the passenger seat.

"Shane, what's wrong with Nate? He's acting–"

"I want to meet your parents." Shane interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Mitchie asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, you've met mine. I think it's about time I met yours." Shane explained with a hopeful smile on his face. Mitchie folded her arms over her chest and stared at the dashboard. "Oh no, you're biting your lip. You always bite your lip when you're trying to think about how to tell me no. Mitchie…" Shane said in a whining tone.

"Why do you want to do this all of a sudden?" She asked.

"Because when we get married, I want to at least have met the guy that's walking you down the aisle." Mitchie's heart sank. There were some things that she knew she probably should have told Shane about her family but she just never did. Now he wanted to meet them and it just sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

"Wait, married?" She repeated, completely forgetting her thoughts about her family issues.

"Well, yeah," He smiled, grabbing her hand in his. "You do want to marry me, don't you?" He questioned.

"Yeah, of course I just didn't think you wanted to get married." She admitted sheepishly.

"Truth be told, I didn't but Nate kind of convinced me." Shane admitted with a small smile. "Speaking of Nate…"

The two looked out of the windshield to see Nate juggling two suitcases towards Shane's car. Once he reached the driver side window, Shane rolled the window down and Nate rested on the window seal.

"Okay, I packed for the both of you. Shane, I packed you lots of sweats, some jeans and hoodies so you're good. Mitchie, I packed just some jeans and t-shirts, I hope that's okay. Oh and while going through you guys' drawers for underwear I saw that little purple number you got in there. I packed that too. You're welcome Shane." Nate said with a wink.

"You went through my underwear drawer?" Mitchie asked horrified.

"Well did you want underwear for the duration of the trip or not?" Mitchie rolled her eyes at him. "That's what I thought. Now, you two go get a flight to Dallas and I'll take care of Hayley while you're gone. You two crazy kids have fun, okay?"

As Nate turned around to walk away, Shane grabbed his wrist stopping him. "Hey man, I know I told you this already but thanks again for everything. You are truly an awesome brother."

Nate smiled warmly at Shane. "No problem, bro. I'm always here for you. Just call me, Nate the Great!" He yelled out as he walked back into Shane's house.

Shane and Mitchie sat in the car for a few more moments in silence before Shane started it up. Mitchie put her hand over his, which was about to put the car in gear.

"Wait," She spoke, letting her eyes meet his. "I know we've had some issues with promises lately but I need you to make me one more promise."

"Sure, anything." Shane agreed.

"This trip can't change anything between us, okay?"

"Mitchie, you're starting to scare me. Why would this trip change anything?"

"Shane, just promise me, please." She looked at him with pleading eyes. He held a hand up in defense.

"Alright, alright. Nothing will change. Nothing will ever change the way I feel about you." He said before leaning over, kissing her on the cheek. She gave him a somewhat fake smile before he backed out of his driveway and headed for the airport. Sure, he said that nothing could change his feelings but that's easy to say when you haven't seen the thing that could possibly change them.

**\=/**

**Okay so was this chapter a lot of dialogue? I felt like it was a lot of dialogue. I'm going to be honest, this chapter was totally a filler…it was kind of pointless besides these important facts, 1) Hayley and Nate have returned. 2) Eventually Shane WILL propose. 3) Shane and Mitchie are going to go meet her folks! So, yeah, that's all I was trying to get across in this chapter.**

**And remember how I said this story was close to being over? Yeah, well, I lied. It's not. I think I can still get a lot out of it so this story shall be going on for a little while longer. Yay! :] Anyway, thanks for reading! I can't wait to post the next chapter; it was really fun to write! So, if you want me to post it faster…REVIEW! :D**

**Thanks for reading! :]**


	15. Out With The In Law

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Fifteen – Out With The In-Law**

"Okay, I officially love Texas. Where else can you get a cowboy hat from the airport gift store?" Shane exclaimed excitedly as he and Mitchie sat in the dining room of a Subway grabbing a bite to eat before heading to her parents' home. When she didn't answer, he went ahead and answered for her. "I'll tell you where, no where! Gosh, why haven't we–"

"Wow, I thought I left my three-year old at home." Mitchie snapped at him. Shane's grin faded into an upset frown. "I'm sorry," She apologized running her fingers through her disheveled hair. "You're just not making this easy for me."

"Making what easy?" He questioned with a mouthful of his turkey sub. "Mitchie, I'm just meeting your parents. Its not like we're meeting the Queen of England or anything."

Mitchie pushed away the sub sandwich she ordered and shifted in her seat. She was contemplating whether or not to come clean to Shane now, or let him figure things out for himself. On the plane ride to Dallas, she knew she could have prevented all of this. None of this would have happened if she had told Shane about her family from day one. Instead, she chose to leave it out and now she was going to have to deal with her choices.

"Oh, hey, I've been meaning to ask you," Shane wiped the corners of his mouth before continuing his sentence. "What are your parents' names? I wanna know them before we arrive."

"Connie and Daniel." She answered flatly.

"Connie and Daniel…got it. So–"

"Shane I have something to tell you," Mitchie interrupted quickly. Shane nodded for her to continue. "My parents don't know we're coming."

"Oh, no big deal. It'll be a pleasant surprise when we arrive then." Shane said ever so optimistic.

"They also don't know that I broke it off with Ken." She continued confessing.

"Well we'll just tell them when we get there!" Shane's nervousness about this trip was beginning to increase a little.

"And we might also want to tell them that you're actually Hayley's dad…"

Shane's face fell. "You mean they think…Mitchie, have you told your parents _anything_ about us?"

Mitchie embarrassingly shook her head causing Shane to throw his hands up, letting them fall loudly on top of the table. "See, they weren't exactly thrilled when I told them I dropped out of Arizona State because I met some guy but when I told them it was Ken and how he was an awesome lawyer who I was madly in love with, they were suddenly okay with everything. They were even happy that we were having a baby…"

"Are you telling me they don't know how he treated you, I mean _really_ treated you either?" Shane asked stunned.

"I was too ashamed to tell them." She muttered quietly. "They were so happy for me and so excited to tell they're friends, 'hey, my daughter's marrying a rich lawyer', and I didn't want to ruin it. I know that sounds stupid but…"

"No, no, I understand." Shane said supportively. "Do you think they know now since our little showing on James Conway?"

"Probably not. Mom and Dad don't watch too much TV. Mom's too busy with her catering company and Dad's usually wrapped up in his teaching."

"Hm, well just promise me when we get to your parents' you'll tell them, okay?" Mitchie nodded and even gave Shane a small smile. "Now, let's get going. It's almost eight and I don't want it to be _too_ late when we deliver all this shocking news."

**\=/**

Shane and Mitchie stood on the doorstep of her parents' home, waiting to knock on the door. The house was average size and looked like every other house on the block due to the fact they lived in a suburb. Shane thought for a teacher and a caterer, the two sure had some impressive looking cars. After looking at his surroundings, he had realized Mitchie still hadn't knocked yet.

"Uh, Mitchie," Shane started. "Are you gonna stare a hole through the door or actually knock on it?" Mitchie snapped out of the trance-like state she was in and slowly and reluctantly knocked on the red hardwood door. She nervously looked back at Shane who offered her a small smile.

"Yes?" The door swung open and a woman who looked exactly like an older version of Mitchie stood in front of the two, gawking. "Mitchie?"

"Hey mom," Mitchie's voice was soft, almost like she was embarrassed.

"W-what are you doing here?" Her mother was so wrapped up in staring at her daughter she almost didn't notice Shane standing behind her smiling like an idiot. "And who's this?"

"Hi ma'am, I'm Shane. Pleasure to meet you!" Shane grinned extending his hand to her. She slowly shook it and smiled politely at him.

"Mom, we'd better go inside," Mitchie said slowly. "I have so much to tell you."

Mitchie's mother gave the two a confused look before stepping aside allowing them to enter the home. As they entered the house, Shane took in the interior design of the home. Everything was pretty modern, yet somehow traditional. It definitely had the appearance of being a home that two forty-something's lived in.

"Connie, who's at the door?" A deep voice from upstairs was heard yelling down. There were some footsteps before a tall, well-built man came from around the corner. One look at Mitchie and he came racing down the stairs. "Oh, my little girl is home!"

Shane stepped aside as the two embraced. A warm smile was brought to his face before it quickly faded remembering all there was to tell her parents. He wondered if the festive atmosphere would stay once everything was out in the open.

"Hi daddy," Mitchie said wrapping her arms tight around her dad. Once she let go, she backpedaled until she was standing next to Shane.

"Who's this young man?" Her dad asked, the smile from their hug still on his face.

"Mom, Dad, this is Shane, my boyfriend." Shane couldn't help but notice how she had difficulty getting the word 'boyfriend' out.

Both of her parents wrinkled their brows at her, their faces obviously questioning the whole situation.

"What, uh, what happen to good ole' Ken?" Her dad asked.

"We broke up." Mitchie said matter-of-factly.

"Why? He was such a nice boy." Her mom cooed.

Shane's face contorted into a 'yeah, right' kind of expression. It actually kind of angered him that Ken would actually play good guy in front of her parents but then turn around and lay hands on Mitchie when they were alone. It was sickening him to think about it.

"We just didn't work out, Mom." Mitchie linked her arms with Shane, a smile forming on her face. "But Shane and I are working out perfectly!"

"Well I'm glad to hear this sweetie but what about Hayley? What is she going to think now that her dad isn't there? Where is she anyway?" Her dad questioned.

"But, you see, her dad is here…" Mitchie quietly said, ignoring her dad's last question.

"What are you…?" Her dad's sentenced trailed off. His eyes widened as he realized what she was trying to ambiguously say. "I think I need to sit down,"

Mitchie's mom too realized what her daughter was trying to get across and followed her husband to the beige couch that sat in the middle of the living room. They both sat staring at the brown hardwood floors while Shane and Mitchie stood in front of the door, linked by the arms, waiting from one of them to say something.

"But all this time we thought…" Her father started to say but stopped not being able to find the right words to explain the situation.

"Look, it's getting late. Your father has some papers to grade and I have some menus for some events to work out so how about we all go get some rest and we'll talk about this in the morning?" Her mom said, trying to placate the situation.

"Come on Shane, I'll show you to my room." Mitchie said grabbing one of the duffle bags Shane had carried in and his hand to lead him up the stairs.

"Wait a second," Her dad called out. He walked over to the couple, who were already two or three steps up the staircase. "Shane, right?"

"Yes, sir." Shane confirmed.

"You play golf, Shane?" Shane slowly nodded. He had never played a game of golf in his life but he'd say anything if he felt like it would impress her dad. "What do you say we go tee off tomorrow? Just us guys?"

"That sound great, sir. Looking forward to it." With a confirming smile from her dad, Mitchie dragged Shane upstairs and into a small bedroom. The walls were dark purple and bare. There was nothing much in the room except a small bed in the middle.

"That went better than expected, don't you think?" She asked plopping down on the edge of the bed.

"Mitchie, I don't know how to golf." Shane confessed.

"Well I guess you better learn how before tomorrow." She said simply. Shane gawked at her. Just an hour ago she was so worked up about this visit and now she was laid out, relaxing on a bed. Maybe he was wrong but he definitely thought they were far from in the clear. He supposed he'd have to use tomorrow's outing with her dad to actually get himself in the clear.

**\=/**

_Man this sweater vest is itchy,_ Shane thought as he sat in the passenger seat of Mitchie's dad's Expedition. He had made sure to wake up extra early and head to the nearest Academy so he could pick up some proper golfing attire. Not only was his light pink and powder blue sweater vest itchy, but his khaki shorts were a bit too tight and his newsboy cap just made him look silly. After looking at himself in the mirror, he decided that was the last time he'd let an Academy employee tell him how to dress.

"That's some outfit there," Her dad commented. Shane looked over at him. Red polo and relaxed navy blue shorts. If everyone on the course dressed like her dad, Shane was sure he was to gain unwanted attention.

"Yeah, the guy at Academy told me this is how all good golf players dress." Shane said, defending his outfit.

"I'd hate to tell you but the guy at Academy lied to you." Her dad laughed as they pulled into a golfing range. They exited the car, her dad going around the back to get his set of clubs. "I'm guessing you don't have any clubs? You can rent some at the front."

Shane nodded and jogged over to a small booth, renting out a set of golf clubs. Just as he was done, Mitchie's dad zoomed next to him in a golf cart. Shane loaded his clubs in the back and took the seat next to him. It was a long way to the section of the course her dad wanted to tee off at so the ride gave them some time to talk.

"So Shane, what do you do for a living?" He asked. Shane snorted.

"Is that supposed to be a serious question?" When he dad looked over at him with a very unpleased expression, Shane's cocky smirk was wiped off of his face. "I'm a musician, sir. I sing for a band, Connect Three. Its me and my two brothers Nate and Jason."

"Ah, a singer. That's a very non-practical job. How on earth do you expect to support my daughter with such a non-practical job?"

"Well, I've been doing an alright job of it so far."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Mitchie and I got together a while back. During that time I've bought her clothes, moved her into my house–"

"Sounds like you're trying to buy my little girl off." He stated flatly.

"No. Never. I just feel like after what she's been through she deserves that world." Shane's statement caused the cart to come to a screeching halt.

"What do you mean, 'after what she's been through'?" Her dad's eyes squinted at Shane, intimidating him.

"I just meant…it's actually really not my place to tell." Shane said.

"I'm her father, whatever she's been through, I think I deserve to know."

Shane took a deep breath. He knew he should probably let Mitchie tell but he also knew if he didn't tell her dad right then and there, he'd probably never get the chance to see Mitchie, or anyone else for that matter, ever again.

"Sir, I'd really love to tell you but I honestly think that information is something Mitchie should tell you." Shane said reluctantly.

"Alright, I guess I'll find out when we get back home." The cart started moving again which was a relief to Shane. "Which reminds me, about last night, what Mitchie said. Are you Hayley's dad?"

Shane proudly nodded. Once again, the cart stopped.

"So where the hell have you been for the past three years, Mr. Singer?" Her dad asked him angrily.

"It's complicated, sir." Shane said truthfully.

"Un-complicate it." Her dad demanded.

"Okay," Shane agreed quickly, gulping down a huge knot in his throat. "Your daughter and I foolishly had a one night stand about three years ago which resulted in Hayley but see I didn't know until some months ago when I toured through Phoenix, saw Mitchie and found about Hayley."

"If you never would've gone back through Phoenix, would you ever have tried to see Mitchie again?"

"Honestly, yes. I would tell you how bad I felt for what I did that night but I left my shoebox full of remorse songs at home in L.A." Surprisingly, that earned a chuckle out of her dad. "I know you and your wife were probably very excited to have Ken as a son-in-law and I know my career isn't exactly white collar and I know that how I met Mitchie and how little Hayley was created isn't exactly picture perfect but I also know that I'm completely in love with your daughter and I wanna marry her someday and I just want to maybe, get your blessing…if it's not too much to ask."

"All right Mr. Singer," He began, stepping out of the golf cart. "I'll give you my blessing to propose to Mitchie if, and only if, you can beat me."

Shane's stomach dropped. "Beat you at golf?"

"No, at basketball. Of course golf! Now, hand me my driver." Shane felt the tops of the golf clubs hoping he'd pick whatever a 'driver' was. Mitchie's dad looked over to him and laughed before pointing to the correct club. If his future with Mitchie was dependent on his ability to play golf, he was in trouble.

**\=/**

Mitchie nervously sat in the couch, tapping her foot a hundred miles a minute. Her mom watched her amusingly from the kitchen.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's doing fine." She said to her daughter. Mitchie jumped up and walked into the kitchen.

"Mom, you know how dad is with any guy I'm dating. And he's going to be worse with Shane because he's Hayley's dad." Mitchie whined to her mother.

"Honey, do you love Shane?" She nodded. "Does Shane love you?" Again, she nodded. "Well then your dad is going to love him, okay? At the end of the day, all he wants for you is someone who's gonna make you happy. And from what I hear, he's good with Hayley, right?"

"Oh my gosh mom, Hayley _loves_ him. I mean, she should, he's her dad but sometimes I think she forgets that I even exist. She's gonna grow up to be such a daddy's girl, I can tell already."

"Well, like mother like daughter," Her mom teased. Before Mitchie could retort, she heard the door open. She ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. He dad walked in, a huge smile on his face while Shane stood sadly at the door.

"Hello sweetheart," Her dad greeted her with a kiss on the forehead. She waited for her dad to enter the kitchen before running over to Shane.

"What happened? Tell me everything." She said quickly.

"I…I just don't know." Shane uttered, his face looking completely defeated.

"Mitchie," Mitchie turned to see her mom and dad walking out of the kitchen, both looking very amused. "Your boyfriend shot a 25 on a 4 par."

"Is that good?" Mitchie asked dumbly.

"Good? That's the worse I've ever seen anyone do!" Her dad said before busting out into a hearty laugh. "But you know, Ken always used to beat me at golf and this was the first time I've actually won a game so…" Shane lifted his defeated head a little to see her dad walking toward him, his arm extended. "You're alright with me, Mr. Singer."

**\=/**

**So, was this chapter good or…? I'll never know unless you leave me some reviews! I actually planned to update this sooner but never got the chance to! I apologize for that! Hopefully I can get the next one out sooner! Oh, and just as a little teaser, the next chapter will be titled, 'I Think I Wanna Marry You' but it might not be what you're expecting so get ready for that! Oh the anticipation…haha. Well, leave me some awesome reviews like you guys always do and…**

**Thanks for reading! :]**


	16. I Think I Wanna Marry You

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters. I don't own the song "Penguin"…Christina Perri does. I'm so jealous.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Sixteen – I Think I Wanna Marry You**

"Well that trip was definitely worthwhile." Shane said pulling his car into the garage of his home. He and Mitchie had just gotten back from Dallas and were sitting in his car talking, which was something they seemed to be doing a lot of lately. "I can't believe we got back home before five o'clock. I think our pilot had a need for speed."

"Yeah well I can't believe how much fun it was. I was thinking the whole trip would go horribly wrong considering all the things I neglected to tell them. By the way, I'm so sorry about that. It's not like I was ashamed of you or anything it's just with Ken and everything–"

"Mitchie," Shane rested his hand atop of hers and asked with a smile, "When will you finally realize that you don't have to explain yourself to me?"

"Sorry, it's just a habit." She apologized sheepishly.

"I meant to ask this during our flight but I forgot, did you ever tell your mom and dad about Ken? About what he used to do to you?" He asked hesitantly.

She nodded, staring down at her hands, one of which was intertwined with Shane's. "My mom cried and my dad just cursed and swore to give him a taste of his own medicine." She said with a dry laugh. "But I told him there was no need because my own personal knight in shining armor already did."

A huge grin grew on Shane's face. "Well, I was only a knight in shining armor because you were a beautiful damsel in distress. But even if you weren't, I would still be your knight."

Mitchie smiled and leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek before opening the passenger door and exiting the car. She was halfway to the door before she looked back realizing Shane wasn't following.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

"Um, I actually have something to do. Would you mind doing me a favor?" He asked. She shook her head. "When you get inside, could you tell Nate to come out here for a few minutes?"

"Sure," With that Mitchie entered the house and a few seconds later Nate came running out. He ran over to the passenger side and hopped in.

"Did you get it?" Shane asked nervously rubbing his hands together.

"Did I get?" Nate repeated loudly. "Of course I got it!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue box that was wrapped in a white bow, the signature of Tiffany & Co.

"And it's the one I told you to get? The Soleste?" Shane asked as he took the box from Nate.

Nate nodded, a satisfied smile on his face. "1.5 carats, twenty-two thousand smackers, it's the exact one you wanted."

Shane gently placed the box inside of his leather jacket's breast pocket. "Thanks for doing this for me, bro. Now, keep her busy until I call, okay? That shouldn't be too hard seeing as how she's gonna be busy with Hayley and stuff but just make sure when I call, she comes, okay?"

"No problem. You just go, set up and make everything perfect. You only get one chance to do this." Nate reminded him.

"Oh, thanks for the extra added pressure." Shane said sarcastically. "Now go back inside before she gets suspicious."

Nate nodded and exited the car, running back into the house. Just as Shane predicted, Mitchie was already wrapped up in some game with Hayley. When she saw him run by, though, she paused to talk to him.

"Hey Nate," She called out to him. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "Where's Shane going?"

"Uh," Nate searched for a feasible place Shane would be heading. "Shane is going to the grocery store for some…oranges."

"Oranges?" She repeated suspiciously.

"Yeah, its weird. Ever since we were kids he's had this weird thing about oranges. I'd love to tell you all about it but I'm kind of tired so I'm gonna go take a little nap." Nate said quickly faking a yawn and running off into the guest room. Mitchie shrugged off his strange behavior and went back to playing with Hayley.

**\=/**

Shane stood outside of the outdoor floral shop waiting to purchase the bouquet of yellow roses he had picked out. Just as the shop owner was about the ring his items up, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned around to see who it was.

"Shane, hey." The familiar voice greeted him.

"Ashley, what are you doing talking to me? I thought I made myself pretty clear when I said stay away…" Shane muttered turning back to the shop owner, paying for his flowers.

"It's been weeks. I thought you were over it." Ashley said honestly following Shane, who was walking back to his car.

"Actually it's been more like a week and a half. And besides, you gave out confidential information about my family to some sleazy TV host. Its gonna take a little longer for me to 'get over it'." He said mocking her nonchalant attitude.

"So you're really gonna let that come between our friendship?" She asked incredulously.

Shane nodded getting into the driver seat. Without warning, Ashley got into the passenger seat. He looked over to her and groaned.

"What part of stay away from me are you not understanding? The stay or the away part?" He asked harshly.

"I messed up, I completely understand that, but why can't you just forgive me? I know what I did was wrong and I really don't know how to make it up to you besides letting you know how sorry I am." Her apology didn't faze him. He was still upset and it'd take more than another apology and a week and a half of not talking to her to fix things.

"Eventually, I'll forgive you," He said not bothering to look at her. "I just need more time, alright?"

"I can totally respect that." She exited his car but before shutting the door told him goodbye. Shane watched her walk down the boulevard thinking about what he told her. He wasn't being untruthful, he really would forgive her but it wouldn't come easy. He trusted her and she broke his trust. He couldn't worry too much about the Ashley situation, though; he still had some things to do before sunset.

**\=/**

Shane pulled his Range Rover into one of the parking spaces near the seawall of the beach. He got out of the car and walked to the back, removing a picnic basket, a red and black checkered blanket, the flowers he bought earlier and his guitar from the hatchback. He locked up his car and juggled the items up to a small beach house that sat on the beach, overlooking the ocean. He sat the picnic items in the kitchen area and rested his guitar on the couch before gently laying the flowers on the bar counter.

He tapped his jacket pocket making sure the box he placed there earlier was still there. When he successfully felt it, he checked his watch, 7:20 p.m. He had about twenty minutes until sun set. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Nate's number.

"_Hey, Shane, are you ready?"_

"Yeah, tell her you're taking her and Hayley to In-N-Out and detour to the beach house. I'll be waiting outside and I'll just take it from there." Shane instructed him.

"_Alright, you got it brother. See you in fifteen."_ With that Nate hung up the phone and Shane tucked it back into his pocket. He ran upstairs to one of the guest rooms to change out of his plain white V-neck, leather jacket and jeans and into some board shorts, a white wife-beater and a zip-up hoodie. He checked himself in the mirror, fixing his hair and making sure there was nothing in his teeth. He reached into his leather jacket's pocket and grabbed the Tiffany & Co. box and placed it in the pocket of his shorts. He jogged back downstairs and grabbed all of the items he had previously brought inside and carried them out to the beach. He hoped what he had planned would go off without anything going wrong.

**\=/**

"Nate, where are we going? I thought In-N-Out was the other way?" Mitchie asked looking in the rear view mirror at the strip of fast food drive-ins Nate had drove past.

"Oh we're going to In-N-Out. And by 'we' I mean Hayley and I. You on the other hand have a beach date to attend." Nate explained.

"Beach date? What are you–" Mitchie stopped her sentence short as Nate pulled up to the seawall. She looked to her left and accompanied with the impending sunset, she saw a figure in the distance, sitting on the sand with a guitar in hand. "Is that Shane?"

"Yep. Oh, here," Nate reached behind him in the backseat and grabbed a tiny blue bag. "Here's a swimsuit. You might need it."

"Nate, what does your brother have planned now?" Mitchie asked almost playfully as she exited the car.

"Why don't you go find out?" Nate said playfully shooing her towards the beach. She said her goodbyes to Hayley and watched as the two of them drove away. She peaked inside of the bag and saw the yellow bikini swimsuit and tiny jean shorts inside. She figured she should change out of her jeans before meeting up with Shane so she ran inside a nearby bathroom to change.

Shane lightly strummed a melody he had made up minutes prior and watched as the sun began to start its descent into the horizon. He was so preoccupied with his playing and his thoughts about what he was about to do, he didn't even notice Mitchie walking up behind him. When he turned to look at her, a smile was instantly brought to his face.

"Wow," He said standing up to greet her. "You look amazing."

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself," She complimented him glancing over the outfit he was wearing.

"Well I guess we're just one good looking couple, eh?" He joked before stepping aside so they could both comfortably sit on the picnic blanket he had laid out on the sand.

"So," Mitchie started to say sitting next to Shane who had picked up his guitar and rested it on his lap. "What is this all about?"

"Uh, this blanket is red and black." He pointed out ignoring her question. "I remember once you told me red and black were your favorite colors."

"Very observant, Shane. Now, why are we here?" She asked once again. "I wouldn't think you'd want to be out in public like this since the whole Conway incident–"

Shane laid his guitar next to him and pulled the picnic basket closer. He reached inside and pulled out two bottles of root beer and a box of Sour Patch Kids.

"I also remember you told me root beer was your favorite drink and you'd eat Sour Patch Kids all day if you could." Shane handed her a bottle and the box of candy before picking up his guitar again.

"Shane, you're kind of scaring me. What is this all about, seriously?"

"What, you don't think this is romantic?"

"Oh its romantic, I'd just like to know _why_ you're being so spontaneously romantic." Shane crinkled his brow at her and suddenly stood up. Mitchie followed him with her eyes, wondering what he was about to do now.

"_Love like this, may come once._" He began to sing, "_Baby its fate. Like a soul mate, I'm your penguin. Baby its fate, not luck."_

Shane stopped playing, signaling Mitchie to comment on what he just sang. When she said nothing he figured she didn't understand. "You know once penguins chose a mate, they stay with that other penguin for life. Here," He held out his hand to her and helped her up as he placed the guitar back down on the blanket. He took a deep breath. He had been practicing these words in his head all day but they seemed so much easier to say in his head than to say aloud.

"Shane…" Mitchie spoke breathlessly as she stood up.

"When I first met you, at the bar all those years ago, I got this feeling in my stomach. And I know I probably told you this that night but you probably thought I was just trying to smooth talk you in to my bed so I'll say them again. When I saw you that night, your hair in a messy ponytail, your makeup kind of worn out from working all night, your shirt stained with little spots of beer, you looked…_amazing_. Seeing you stand there like a real life angel made me forget the faces of every other girl I've ever been with. But I don't actually like to think about that night because once I do, I start to think about how I left you." Shane paused trying to remember how exactly he had planned to say all of this. Mitchie just stared at him, intently listening to his words. "I was always mad at myself for doing that because I always wondered what would have happened if I stayed. Would we have been celebrating an anniversary of some sort? Would you have ever met Ken? That one bothers me the most. If I had stayed, maybe you wouldn't have met Ken, which means you would have never had to feel what it was like to have a man hit you. And then we met up again and it was like…_fate_. When I saw you for the second time, I still felt the same. I had butterflies in my stomach and I felt like an awkward high school boy who was trying to talk to the popular cheerleader. Even though it was a little rough, the road we took to get here, I'd travel it again and again as long as the destination ends up being you."

Mitchie felt tears in her eyes. She didn't know why Shane was saying this, she had no idea where it was coming from but she didn't care. He was being sweet and sincere, something not totally out of his character, but with the beach and the sunset behind them, everything felt like a fairytale.

"So, with that being said," Shane took a deep breath before performing the action that surely told Mitchie what was to be said next; He bent down on one knee. He reached inside of his pocket and pulled out the little box he had been carrying with him all day. He opened it to face her, revealing the diamond he had picked out himself. "Michelle Torres, yeah, your dad told me your real name," He joked before continuing. "Anyway, Michelle Torres, will you marry me?"

Mitchie stood in front of him, looking down at him and the ring he was presenting to her with a hand over her mouth and tears streaming down her face. She opened her mouth but nothing came out so she placed her hand back over it. She waited a few moments before trying once again. And once again, she failed so instead of verbally telling him her answer she just nodded her head.

"So, that's a yes?" Shane asked not to sure of her answer.

"After all this, do you really think I'd say no?" She managed to say. Shane smiled taking the ring out of the box and slipping it on her finger. Once it was on, he stood up, grabbing her by the waist and spun her around. Everything he planned, the beach, the sunset, the proposal everything had gone perfect.

"We need to celebrate," Shane said placing her back on the ground. He pointed to the beach house behind her. "The beach house is all ours tonight."

A mischievous grin grew on Mitchie's face. "Race you!" She said before taking off running toward the beach house.

"Wait, no fair! I have to carry all this crap!" Shane called out behind her, grabbing his guitar and the picnic basket, fumbling the items in his hands.

"I'll be waiting for you!" She yelled out to him from halfway across the beach. He just smiled and shook his head, giving up. He carefully placed the items in such a way he'd be able to carry everything back to the beach house. During his walk to the beach house, what he had just done sunk in. He was engaged. He'd be married soon. For some, that can be a scary thought but to him, he welcomed it. He thought about the one thing he had always wanted to give Mitchie but never had the chance to. Now he would. He'd be able to give her his last name. And that was a gift he had been waiting to give since day one.

**\=/**

**Wow. That was a lot…but very fun to write! HAHA. I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter might take a while since I have finals for school coming up (Yuck.) so I might not have much time to write but I shall try my hardest to update! Leave me some awesome reviews!**

**Thanks for reading! :]**


	17. You Can't Always Escape Your Past

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Seventeen – You Can't Always Escape Your Past**

Usually on a Friday night, Parvenue nightclub would have a line around the building full of girls and guys alike trying to gain entrance into the club. On this particular Friday night, however, one side of the nightclub had been made up with a white sheet hanging over the side that covered the entire brick wall, a long strip of blue carpet leading from the left side of the building to the club's entrance and an equally long line of photographers and reporters standing behind the velvet ropes that held them back. There were multiple celebrities walking down the blue carpet, taking advantage of the photo ops before entering the club to wait for the two people they were here to celebrate.

"Man it is packed!" Shane commented looking out the car window. He looked over to Mitchie who was seated beside him, on her phone. He rolled his eyes and reached over, taking the phone away from her.

"Hey!" She protested trying to grab the phone from him.

"Sorry to bother you again Rachel. I promise we'll leave you and Hayley alone for the remainder of the night!" He said into the phone before pressing end. He handed it back to Mitchie who was pouting at him. "You have to stop calling the babysitter."

"But I don't even know this Rachel girl. She could be some psycho for all we know." She said putting her phone back into her purse.

"But she's not. She checked out with the babysitting agency I got her from, okay? Just relax and enjoy this party. I mean do you see all these people? They're here to celebrate us and our engagement." He said grabbing her hand, entwining their fingers together. She gave him a smile as if to agree to relax. "Now, let's go get our picture taken!"

Shane and Mitchie exited the car and were immediately greeted by flashing bulbs. It was a little reminiscent of when they first arrived at LAX. Mitchie had gotten more use to it now but it was still a little unnerving.

After walking down the _blue_ carpet and getting their picture taken and saying a few words to some reporters, Shane and Mitchie were ready to enter the club to get the festivities started. Before they entered, Shane jumped in front of Mitchie, a devilish grin on his face.

"I have a surprise for you." He said smiling. He turned to the bouncer and waved his hand forward as if to call him over. The bouncer nodded and pressed on his earpiece. Within a minute or so, a girl came walking out of the club.

"Oh my gosh, Caitlyn!" Mitchie yelled embracing her friend in a hug. Shane stepped aside to give them some space. "What are you doing here?"

"Shane flew me out so I could be here for your engagement party! Which, by the way is way bigger than your previous engagement party." Caitlyn commented with a wink.

"All right ladies," Shane said walking back over to them, draping his arms over both of their shoulders. "Shall we go and par-tay?"

When the three of them walked in, there were some 'heys' from various people but everyone was so busy dancing or drinking or just talking their entrance went almost unnoticed.

"Shane my man!" Shane looked to his left and say fellow label mate Luke Williams walking up to him.

"Luke! I haven't seen you in forever. Good to finally see you, bro." Shane greeted him. He watched Luke peer behind him and lick his lips and smile.

"And I'm guessing you're Mitchie?" He said grabbing Mitchie's hand, kissing it. "You are much more beautiful in person."

"All right Mr. Smooth Talker," Shane said playfully stepping between the two of them. "You think you can do me a favor and not hit on my fiancée?"

"Maybe if your fiancée wasn't so darn attractive." Luke said playfully. He slapped Shane on the back jokingly. "I'm just messing around. Congrats you two! I wish you nothing but happiness and I'll be expecting my wedding invitation soon, yeah?"

Shane nodded and watched Luke walk away from the three of them. He turned to Mitchie, silently asking what she thought of him.

"He was…nice." She said with an overwhelmed smile.

"Eh, Luke's harmless, trust me." He assured her. He looked over to Caitlyn who stood beside Mitchie, bobbing her head to the music that was playing.

"You're a dancer, right?" He asked her. She nodded proudly. "Would you like to meet the most uncoordinated guy, ever?"

"Um, I guess." She answered tentatively. Shane smiled and the three of them walked over to a table that was near the back. There sat Jason, Danielle and Nate. The three of them stood up to greet the approaching three.

"Aw look at my little brother all engaged and whatnot." Jason cooed embracing Shane in a hug.

"Congrats you two," Danielle said giving Mitchie a hug as well.

"Hey, I'm Nate." Nate said introducing himself to Caitlyn. She shook his extended hand with a smile.

"You must be the most uncoordinated guy Shane was talking about." Nate looked over a Shane with a horrified look. "I could tell because when you were bobbing you head to the music you were really off beat. Which is weird because you'd think you'd be on beat seeing as how you're a musician. Am I talking too much? Sorry, I do that sometimes." She finished with a nervous laugh.

"No, its…cute." Nate said. Mitchie looked over at Shane who looked on like a proud father.

"Well my work here is done," Shane said clapping his hands together. "If you guys don't mind, I was going to take Mitchie around, meet some more of my friends?"

"Oh go ahead. We were just going to chill here anyway. Have fun you two!" Jason said as he and Danielle sat back down at the table next to Nate and Caitlyn.

Mitchie and Shane walked away from the four, Shane looking for people to introduce to Mitchie. So far the night was going off without a hitch.

**\=/**

"Now I know you had your doubts about the idea of having such a huge engagement party but you have to admit, that was fun." The party had ended and everything ended up going exactly as planned. Nate and Caitlyn even hit it off and went out after the party to hang out, just the two of them. Now Shane and Mitchie were going back home, ready to relax after a tiring night.

"Okay, I'll admit it. It was amazing. I just can't wait to get home and crawl into bed." Mitchie said with a yawn. Shane silently agreed as he turned the corner onto their street. As he drove up to the house, they saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway.

"What the…" Shane muttered parking on the curb and not in the driveway next to the strange car. "Stay here," He instructed unbuckling his seatbelt.

"No," Mitchie grabbed Shane's wrist, stopping him. "I don't want to sit in here while you get to have all the fun."

"What if its some psycho?"

"But its not," She said mocking him from earlier. "Its probably Nate or Caitlyn or something." He reluctantly nodded for her to exit the car. She walked behind him, holding on to his arm as he approached the car. Shane turned around, holding his hands up telling her to stay while he approached the car. He walked up to the car hesitantly. Before he could get to the driver side window, the door opened and a man stepped out.

"You could've parked next to me, you know."

"Oh my God," Mitchie said covering her mouth with her hand.

Shane recognized that smug smirk anywhere. His cool demeanor instantly changed. He felt his nails digging into the palm of his hand from how hard he was balling his fist and his jaw start to throb due to how hard he was clenching it.

"Get the hell out of here, Ken." Shane managed to croak out.

"Wow, you look gorgeous Mitchie. I wish you would've dressed up like that for me when we were engaged." Ken said completely ignoring Shane.

"Are you deaf or something? Leave, now." Shane yelled. Ken turned to Shane in annoyance.

"I didn't mean to drop by unannounced. I thought you guys were here but obviously you were out hitting the town. Just so it's not such a surprise, I'll be back tomorrow. You and I have some unfinished business." He said directing his words at Mitchie. The two watched him get back into his Lincoln and drive away. Shane took a deep breath and turned to Mitchie who looked like she had just seen a ghost. It was the past was coming back to haunt them.

**\=/**

**Sorry for the long wait for an update! I hoped you guys liked it! Oh and you should check out my other story. Its called 'Story Of Us' so…yeah, check that out! ;]**

**Thanks for reading! :]**


	18. Lawyer Up, Buddy

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Eighteen – Lawyer Up, Buddy**

Shane sat at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee in front of him. He rubbed his tired eyes before bringing the cup up to his lips. He hadn't slept a wink. Seeing Ken, knowing he was coming back for 'unfinished business' made him extremely uneasy.

He felt a presence behind him and turned to see an equally uneasy looking Mitchie walking into the kitchen.

"Did you sleep?" He asked. She shook her head. "Neither did I. I'm just waiting for that bastard to come back."

"Do you think he will? I mean he could just be messing with us." She said taking the seat in front of him.

He shook his head. "I don't want to risk anything. You and Hayley should spend the day out somewhere. Take her to Chuck E. Cheese or bowling or whatever. I don't care. I just don't want you two here in case he shows up again."

Mitchie took a deep breath not really knowing what to say. She honestly thought she'd never see Ken again. She was sure he wouldn't show his face after what he did to her and, in turn, what Shane did to him but here he was trying to ruin her seemingly happy life.

"I agree, Hayley should be out of the house," She rested her hand atop of his. "But I don't want to leave you, Shane. You don't know Ken like I do. I wouldn't want you around him by yourself."

"Mitchie, I can't put you in harms way like that. This is the same guy who had the balls to put his hands on you. I mean if something happened to you I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Shane saw the look on her face. She wasn't going to take no for an answer. Just as he was about to give in to her request, there was a knock at the door. He looked down at his watch. The digital numbers on the watch read 9:45.

Shane took one last look at Mitchie, sipped his coffee and walked to the door. He placed his hand on the knob, taking a deep breath before turning it and opening the door.

"Before you tell me to leave, I want you to know I'm not here to start trouble."

Shane stepped out on to the doorstep and closed the door behind him. Here he was face to face with Ken, who was dressed in a nice looking suit while Shane was in his PJs. He didn't want to make a scene but it was taking a lot out of him to _not_ punch this guy in the face.

"If you don't want to start trouble, why are you here?" Shane asked as calmly as he could.

Ken fixed the lapel of his blazer and raised his eyebrow. "A year ago I was a high powered lawyer with a fiancée and an adorable little girl. Presently I'm still a high powered lawyer but I no longer have my fiancée nor my little girl."

"First off she was never your little girl, okay? I'm her real father." Shane didn't want to raise his voice and risk Mitchie hearing him. He didn't want her knowing Ken was here. "And you never deserved Mitchie."

"Right, this coming from the guy who knocked her up and left her high and dry." He said cockily. "I like to think of myself as a regal kind of guy so I just wanted to tell you that you should make sure whatever lawyers you have are up to par with me."

"Lawyers? Why would I need lawyers?" Shane asked confusedly.

"Listen, I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. Not spending enough time with Hayley and Mitchie when I had the chance, that was a mistake. Hitting Mitchie, that was a mistake, too. All I want is a second chance."

"And what makes you think you deserve one?" Shane was having a hard time believing what he was hearing.

"I can't do anything about Mitchie. She's a grown woman and she's going to stay where she pleases but Hayley, I can do something about her. The way I see it, this just isn't a stable environment for Hayley to live in so I think I should have custody of her."

Shane's eyes widen. A custody battle? Never in a million years did he think he'd have to be involved in one of those.

"So you're saying an environment where there are two loving parents, a steady income and more than enough protection for that little girl isn't a safe environment?" Shane asked sarcastically. "Do you really think a judge is going to buy that?"

"They will when I bring up the fact that for two whole years you had no idea she even existed. I mean you left before, who's to say you won't leave again?"

"Are you kidding me? _You_ hit her mother. Do you really believe the judge is going to chose you over me?"

Ken smirked and reached into his pocket to pull out a folded piece of paper. He held it up for Shane to see.

"After you busted into my home and punched me in the face, which by the way I will be bringing up in court, I did some reflecting on my life. I signed up for anger management classes. Old Ken wouldn't be talking to you right now. Old Ken would be punching you. Now, I am the new and improved Ken. Thanks to those classes I can stand here and talk to you civilly."

Shane ran a hand over his face. This was a lot for him to take in. In less than 24 hours, Ken's came back and informed that he'd be taking him to court over custody of Hayley. He was not exactly loving his life at the moment. He figured there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. He'd have to take Ken's advice and gather some lawyers so he was prepared to fight for Hayley.

"Well, I guess we're done here." Ken said stuffing the paper back into his pocket. He slapped Shane on the shoulder with a smile. "See you in court buddy."

Shane seethed watching Ken walk to his car. He waited for him to drive away before walking back inside.

"Who was that?" Mitchie asked standing from the kitchen table and walking over to him.

"That was," Shane took a pause. "That was Ken."

"What did he want?" She asked anxiously.

"He's taking us to court. He wants custody of Hayley." Shane braced himself for her reaction. He was ready for anger, sobbing but not laughter, which was what she did. "Why are you laughing?"

"No judge in their right mind is going to grant custody of a three year old child to someone who has a past of being violent. To think that he actually thinks he can win is quite hilarious to me." She said in between giggles.

"After I confronted him about what he did to you that night, he went and took anger management classes. That kind of stuff works in his favor."

"Wait," Mitchie's amused demeanor changed upon hearing Shane's words. "You actually think he has a chance, don't you?"

"Well he has those classes working for him and he's a lawyer, which I'm sure is more appealing to a judge than being a freaking musician, and he's just…" Shane ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at it as he did. "I feel powerless right now."

Mitchie reached up and placed his hand on his cheek. "You're not powerless, okay? Excuse my language but Ken is nothing but a really good bullshitter. You can't believe anything he says. In custody cases, the judge is more likely to put the kid where she's happy. I can't think of anywhere besides in your arms where Hayley's happier. And, okay, so he took some classes on how to manage his anger, that doesn't mean they worked."

Shane's lips curled up in a slight smile. "So you think we stand a chance?"

"I _know_ we stand a chance. All we have to do is show the judge how suitable we are as parents and how unsuitable Ken is…and neither one of those should be too hard to do."

For the first time in their relationship, Shane was the one freaking out and Mitchie was the one who had to talk him down. He was never the one to lose his cool but he was being threatened with the possibility of having his family broken apart. But even with all that, just knowing Mitchie had faith in them, in the fact that can prevail in this whole situation, made him feel a whole lot better about things.

**\=/**

**Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Sorry the latest chapters have been so short! I promise I'll make the next one longer! :] Thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter anddd like always…**

**Thanks for reading! :]**


	19. Another Author's Note

**A/N: Don't worry guys, I will actually update this story in a few days! :P Haha in the meantime, you guys should do me a HUGE favor and vote for this story (and my others…and me!) in the Indie CR Awards! Here's the link (just replace (dot) with an actual dot.): ow(dot)ly/5wIre**

**Thanks for nominating me and getting me to the finals! Really appreciate it! :]**


	20. People Can Change

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Nineteen – People Can Change**

"There is no way you can beat me."

"Yes I can, daddy! Just watch me."

Shane sat his elbow on top of the table and grabbed hold of Hayley's tiny hand.

"Ready?" The little girl nodded, a huge smile on her face. "One, two…three!"

Shane grunted and groaned dramatically as Hayley pushed his hand down toward the tabletop. When Shane's hand didn't go down as easily as she had hoped, she placed her other hand on top of his and pushed down with all of her might. When the back of his hand hit the table, she stood up in the chair happily.

"I told you I could beat you!" She shouted cheerfully.

"You're just way too strong for me, kid." Shane said dejectedly. "But at least _I'm_ still strong enough to pick you up!"

Shane lunged forward and flung the little girl over his shoulder. He carried her all the way into his bedroom where Mitchie was, still in bed.

He let Hayley down gently on the bed. She crawled up and laid next to Mitchie who rolled over to look at Shane.

"What's wrong, babe?" He asked. "You've been in bed all morning. Are you feeling okay?"

"Not really. I think I have a cold or something." She replied. It was obvious by the sound of her voice that she had a stuffy nose.

Shane reached out and placed his hand on her forehead. "Yeah, you have a little fever. Look, don't worry. You stay in bed, Hayley and I will go pick you up some medicine and some soup, alright?"

"Yeah, mommy. You know how you take care of me when I'm sick? Daddy and I will take care of you!" Hayley announced proudly.

"I think Nate left to go to the studio. Are you okay being here alone?" He asked as Hayley crawled off of the bed and stood next to him, grabbing on to his hand.

"Yeah I think I'll be fine." Mitchie watched the two of them walk out of the bedroom hand-in-hand. She couldn't help but smile to herself. Even with everything that was going on with Ken, she wasn't going to let it bring her down. She had total faith that she and Shane would come out on top in the situation.

About ten minutes after Shane and Hayley left for the store, Mitchie heard a knock at the door. She guessed it was Shane probably coming back for something he had forgotten.

She got out of bed and went to open the door. When it swung open, she felt herself instantly tense at the sight of who was standing in front of her.

"You shouldn't be here, Ken." She managed to squeak out.

"There's a lot of things I shouldn't be," Ken said smugly pushing past her and entering the house. "Wow, this is a really nice house. Much better than our place back in Phoenix."

Mitchie stood behind him, staring at him while he looked around. She didn't know what to say to him. She didn't know if there was even anything to say to him.

"So how are things with Mr. Rock Star?" He spun around quickly to face her when she didn't answer. "Cat got your tongue or something?"

"Why are you here?" She asked gaining a bit more confidence in his presence.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked closer to her. "I'm here to apologize. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I'm sorry for the way I treated Hayley. I guess you could say I'm sorry for everything, basically."

Mitchie looked at him skeptically. It wasn't like him to be apologetic or to admit his mistakes.

"It's fine, you don't have to accept my apology." He said when she didn't verbally respond to him. "It's just something my therapist told me to do, apologize to people you love who you have hurt."

"Love?" She repeated.

He bowed his head sheepishly. "Yeah, listen, I know I wasn't the perfect fiancée. It was always work first, family second. And I should have never laid a hand on you; I wasn't raised that way. I would say it was the pressure of work and stuff but there's no excuse for how I treated you. And you know even though Hayley's not mine, I still miss her."

Mitchie couldn't believe what she was hearing. It sounded like Ken was _remorseful_? She wanted to believe him but she couldn't help but get this feeling he was only doing this considering their upcoming custody battle.

"Well listen, if you're not busy tomorrow, we should meet for coffee. Starbucks at six?"

Mitchie didn't move or make a sound. She didn't want to agree to meet him but then again, for some reason, she didn't want to disagree either.

Seeing that their conversation was pretty much over, Ken lamely waved goodbye before exiting the house, leaving Mitchie alone.

"You aren't going to go are you?"

Mitchie jumped and turned around at the sound of Nate's voice.

"Jesus, Nate, you scared the crap out of me." She exclaimed clutching her chest. "What are you even doing here? Shane said you left a while ago."

"You didn't answer me." Nate walked from out of the downstairs guest room where he stayed and out into the living room where Mitchie was standing. "Are you going to go see that guy tomorrow?"

She sighed and shrugged. "I shouldn't but–"

"But nothing. Mitchie, Shane gave up a lot for you. If you go to see that guy tomorrow, it'll be like a big middle finger to Shane."

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" She asked hesitantly.

Nate shook his head, his curly locks bouncing up and down. "Just as long as you promise me you won't go see that Ken guy. You and Shane are good together, don't mess that up."

Mitchie nodded and watched Nate leave just as Ken did, leaving her completely alone. She normally hated being alone but she had some thinking to do and all she wanted was to be alone.

**\=/**

Shane pushed the grocery basket down the soup aisle with one hand and held onto Hayley's with the other. The two had already picked up some medicine for Mitchie and were now doing a little grocery shopping.

"Ah, here we go. Who knew it would be so hard to find chicken soup…" Shane commented out loud.

"Shane," He turned his head down the aisle and saw a familiar face walking toward him.

"Oh, hey Ashley." He said surprised. He hadn't seen her since that day at the flower stand and definitely did not expect to see her here.

She stood awkwardly in front of Shane, her eyes going from him to the little girl at his side. Noticing this, Shane picked up Hayley held her on his hip.

"Uh, Ashley this is my daughter Hayley. Hayley, this is Ashley. She's a good friend of mine."

A smile grew on Ashley's face at the words 'good friend'. Maybe he was finally over the mistake she made.

"Hi there Hayley," She said extending her hand.

The little girl looked at it and then grabbed onto it. "You're pretty!"

"Why thank you! And you are the most adorable little girl I've ever seen!"

Shane, seeing as that they had been introduced, placed Hayley in the little kid seat of the grocery basket. He handed her his iPhone, which was opened to Angry Birds, to keep her busy while he talked to Ashley.

"So," He started shoving his hands in his jean pockets.

"She looks just like you. She's so cute." Ashley gushed.

"I can't take all the credit, you know. She may get her eyebrows from me but she gets pretty much everything else from Mitchie." He pointed out.

"Is Mitchie here with you guys?" She asked.

Shane shook his head. "She's at home sick. Hayley and I were just picking up some stuff for her."

"Aw, that's nice of you. It's really cool to see you being all mature and stuff." She cooed.

"Just trying to be a good fiancée, ya know?"

Ashley licked her lips and smirked. "Yeah I heard about the little engagement party you guys threw. Did my invitation get lost in the mail or was I just not invited?"

Shane felt embarrassed. He totally forgot about the huge engagement party they threw in the heart of downtown L.A.. Everyone he knew he had invited–everyone except Ashley. It was no mistake or accident, either. She had intentionally been left off of the guest list but it was more of a decision on his part to look out for Mitchie. He knew how she felt about Ashley and he didn't want to give her any reason not to enjoy their party. If she didn't have any bad feelings toward Ashley, of course he would have invited her. Ashley was a big part of his life. She was probably the only person besides his brothers who knew him before he really made it big. It was natural that he wanted her there but at the time, Mitchie's feelings were more important than his own.

"About that," He began slowly. He searched for the right words to explain the situation to her but he just couldn't.

"It's okay Shane, you don't have to explain," She assured him.

"No, no, listen. Tomorrow, how about we go out for dinner?" He asked impulsively.

She looked at him doubtfully. "You sure Mitchie won't mind?"

"Its just dinner with a friend. Its not like I'm cheating on her." He said with a nervous laugh. "Look I'll text you the time and place later. I gotta hurry back home but you're up for it, right?"

"Of course. See you tomorrow Shane." Shane nodded in her direction and turned back to Hayley and continued down the aisle, a slight smile on his face.

Truly, he was over the whole James Conway incident. Just because Ashley made a mistake doesn't mean she'd do it again. People can change, right? Shane had full faith that they could and maybe tomorrow night at dinner, he'd be able to see if that was true.

**\=/**

_The Next Day_

Mitchie sat at the table in Starbucks ripping the corners off of a napkin that was in front of her. That was something she did whenever she was nervous and there was a napkin in her reach.

She picked a table toward the back, which cut down the chance of anyone seeing her. Even though she wasn't an actress or singer, she was Shane Gray's fiancée and that meant she was just as famous as any actress or singer.

She looked down at her cellphone. The illuminated screen told her it was almost six. They were set up to meet at exactly six but she was a bit early. She was regretting being early, though. Now all she did was sit there, nervous. She knew she shouldn't be there right now, waiting. But there was something in her that, against her better judgment, felt like she _had_ to be there.

Just as she was about to stand up and leave, she spotted Ken rushing toward the table.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I don't really know my way around Los Angeles." He said removing his coat and placing it on the back of his chair.

"It's okay, I know what you mean. The first time Shane drove me through downtown I was amazed at how fast the city moves." She commented as he sat down in front of her.

"Hey, Phoenix is a pretty big city in it's own right." He said with a laugh. He placed his hands on top of the table, folding them over each other.

"So, why am I here?" Mitchie asked breaking the awkward silence that fell on them.

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I don't know Mitchie. Why _are_ you here? Don't you have a fiancée? Call me crazy but I think Shane would be pretty upset if he knew you were here right now."

She frowned confusedly. "I'm only here because you asked me to come and–"

"You didn't have to fulfill my request." He pointed out. "Regardless, what I said yesterday, about apologizing to the one's you love, I want you to know that despite what you think or what Shane tells you or whatever, I _do_ love you."

Mitchie held her hands up trying to somehow pause the whole situation. "So you brought me here to tell me you love me?"

"No I came here to make you see something." He leaned over the table trying to close the gap between them. "You still love me."

"Well if that isn't the biggest bunch of bullshit I've ever heard…" Mitchie was starting to regret coming. She should've known Ken hadn't really changed.

"Think about it Mitchie, if you didn't have _some_ kind of feelings for me you wouldn't have showed up. Yesterday you would've put up more of a fight for me to leave your house." He reached across the table to grab her hand but she snatched it away. "I've changed Mitchie. I know you don't believe me, I get it, but I actually have. Like I said yesterday, I treated you wrong but people _can_ change. All it took was some separation from you and Hayley for me to realize what I had. And what I had was a beautiful, smart, independent fiancée and one heck of a daughter."

The feeling of sincerity she was getting from him was frightening.

"I-I have to go." She said grabbing her bag and heading for the exit. Looking out of the glass storefront window, she could see a few paparazzi. She really hoped Ken wouldn't follow her out because a picture of them together would certainly pop up on every gossip magazine out there.

"Mitchie, wait!" Ken called out behind her.

She turned sharply on her heel and faced him. "Ken, seriously, leave me alone. I'm pretty sure there's some rule against talking to someone you're taking to court and I'm certain there's a rule against telling them you love them."

"But–"

"But nothing! I am happily engaged to Shane so don't think you can just talk me into going back to you, okay?" She yelled. The silence from Ken was soon replaced by the sound of cameras flashing. "Oh great…"

Ken waved to a few of the cameras before turning his attention back to Mitchie. "I completely understand. If you change your mind though, for whatever reason," He pulled out a small piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled something down on it and handed it to her. "That's where I'm staying. I'll see you later, Mitch."

Mitchie, completely aggravated, shoved the paper into her bag and got in her car and furiously drove off. She couldn't have been more sorry about showing up. It was silly of her to think there was even a slight chance Ken had changed.

**\=/**

Shane looked himself up and down in the mirror. He was dressed in dark jeans, white high-top sneakers and a white t-shirt that had the words 'The Doors' written across the front. He didn't want to dress too fancy since he was just heading out to dinner with Ashley.

Just as he was done, Mitchie stormed into their bedroom, plopping down on the bed.

"Hey you," He said walking over to her.

"This could possibly be the worst day I've had in a long time." She said sitting up to face him.

He chuckled. "Was it really that bad at the Apple Store?"

"What?" She asked slightly annoyed, slightly confused as to what he was talking about.

"The Apple Store. Isn't that where you went?" He folded his arms over his chest, his face scrunching up in a suspicious smirk. "You said you were going to the Apple Store to buy a new charger for your phone."

"Right, uh, yeah the Apple Store was a pain. So many people in there trying to buy iPhones and Macbooks and stuff." She lied running her hand over her flustered face.

"Where's the charger?"

During all the commotion with Ken, she had forgot to actually go pick up an iPhone charger.

"Mitchie, did you lie to me?" He asked bluntly. Her silence was all the answer he needed.

"I'm sorry Shane I just," She stopped her sentence short actually taking the time to look at him. "What are you all dressed up for?"

Now it was Shane's turn to lie. "I'm going out to dinner with a friend."

"Really? Who?" She asked quizzically. "And before you lie, Hayley told me about your pretty friend Ashley."

Shane sighed heavily. "Hey, I'm just going out to grab a bite to eat with a friend. I didn't go out with my ex-fiancée, also known as the prick that used to beat you."

Mitchie gasped. "Did Nate tell you?"

"Of course he did, he's my brother. He doesn't keep secrets from me unlike some people I know."

She scoffed. "Well when were you going to mention you were going out with the girl who nearly caused us to breakup?"

"No, Ashley didn't almost cause us to break up. Pre-existing issues between us is what almost caused us to break up," Shane muttered.

"Pre-existing issues? What issues do we have Shane? I thought everything was peachy keen between us!" She said raising her voice.

"Well how about issue number one; your crazy ex. How can we be a happy engaged couple when he's trying to take my daughter away from me?"

"Away from you? He's trying to take her from me too, if you hadn't noticed…"

"Mitchie, if you really believe he's doing this to get at you then you're fooling yourself. I see right through what he's trying to do. He wants to use his smart lawyer lingo in court, take Hayley away thus gaining you in the process." Shane explained, his voice also rising. "Because, let's face it, if he gets her there's no way you're staying with me. And I'm sure he's going to take you two right back to Phoenix and get some restraining order against me and–"

"Shane, you sound _really_ paranoid right now." She said interrupting him.

"Oh well excuse me for being fearful that my family is going to be snatched right from underneath me. 'Cause you know, I've _only_ left a worldwide tour, halted my career and ruined my already shitty relationship with my father for the two of you. Excuse the hell out of me for not wanting that all to be in vain."

Mitchie shook her head at him. "Is that what this is all about? Have you finally gotten tired of everything not being about you? Is the spoiled rock star inside of you having a fit?"

"How can you even say that? Newsflash Mitchie; people change. I'm more mature than I used to be. People who've known me since I started in this business know that that's true."

"People like Ashley, you mean?"

Shane went silent, rolling his eyes. He hated fighting with her but how could she even try to defend her seeing Ken? That was just plain un-defendable.

"People like me don't understand you, huh?" Her voice had an almost mocking tone to it. "I mean the first time you met me, within a couple hours we were rolling around naked together. How can someone like me ever understand someone like you?"

"Mitchie you know it's not like that. I told you I was sorry about that night–"

She held her hands up, stopping his words. "When I left my parents back in Dallas and moved out to Arizona on my own, my dad told me not to let anyone take advantage of me because, little known fact about myself, I'm kind of naïve. I always want so badly to see the good in people. That's probably why I was with Ken so long. No matter how much or how hard he hit me or how much he was just a general jerk, I still saw the good in him. Maybe I did the same thing with you, Shane. Maybe all this, bringing me to Los Angeles, proposing, maybe all this is your way of dealing with the guilt you feel for sleeping with me and leaving."

"Are you serious right now? You know I love you and for you to think otherwise is utter bullshit."

"Is it Shane? Because even though we're arguing, I can see it in your eyes that you're debating in your mind whether or not it'd be appropriate for you to go out with Ashley."

Shane bowed his head. She was right. Even though the woman he supposedly loved was standing in front of him, questioning their entire relationship, he still had Ashley on his brain.

"I'm not going to stop you Shane. Go ahead, go meet up with her." She said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"So that's it? You're just gonna let me go? You're not even gonna try and convince me to stay?" He asked astonished.

When she didn't answer, he nodded his head and exited the bedroom. He grabbed his car keys on the way out and waiting until he was inside of his car to break down. He was never much of a crier but he had never had such an intense fight with Mitchie before. How could they go from being a happy engaged couple to lying to each other to meet up with people neither one of them should be seeing. He thought about going back inside and talking to her but he thought maybe a little time apart would help them cool down. And maybe after they weren't so pissed, it'd be easy to talk things out rationally.

At least, Shane _really_ hoped so.

**\=/**

**So I had to update with a super long, drama filled chapter to make up for my general lack of updates and to thank you guys for nominating/voting for me in the Indie CR Fiction Awards. So happy to just be nominated!**

**If you haven't voted, you can vote here: (just take out the dot and replaced with a real dot) ow(dot)ly/5wIre. You should vote for this story, my other story "The Story Of Us" and me as an author! It is very much appreciated. :]**

**Anyway, don't forget to leave me awesome reviews and like always,**

**Thanks for reading! :] Oh and forgive me for any errors. I typed this entire thing at like three in the morning! :P**


	21. Did We Just Break Up?

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Twenty – Did We Just Break Up?**

Shane sat in his car in an abandoned parking lot behind a McDonalds. Normally this particular McDonalds would be busy with people who preferred fast food for dinner picking up their meals but tonight, it was pretty deserted. In fact, for it being eight-thirty at night, the streets of L.A. were unusually…slow. It was almost as if the entire city knew he and Mitchie had a fight and was calm on their behalf.

He had been in the parking lot for about twenty minutes just listening to music. The hum of John Mayer's 'Slow Dancing In A Burning Room' filling the car wasn't really making him feel any better. Just as he turned the music completely off, there was a knock on the passenger window. He turned his head and a slight smile formed on his lips.

"Did anyone follow you here?" Shane was talking about paparazzi. The last thing he needed was a whole segment on E! News about how he was seen in an abandoned parking lot with Ashley.

Ashley shook her head and she entered his car. "Remind me again why we're at this sketchy looking parking lot and not in the comfort of a nice little restaurant?"

"Mitchie and I had a fight." He murmured with his gaze fixated on the steering wheel.

"Oh." Was all Ashley managed to say. She too fixed her gaze in front of her. After a few seconds, she turned back to him. "Was it just a fight or was it _the_ fight?"

He shrugged his shoulders. He knew what she meant by 'the fight'. In his past relationship with fellow pop star Tess Tyler, he found out there were two types of fights. There were regular fights where you could easily recover and then there was _the fight_. With that fight, there is no coming back. Needless to say after _the fight_ the relationship is as good as dead.

"She went to go see her ex-fiancé who is currently trying to take Hayley away from me. I mean, from us." He looked over to her. "I'm not wrong for being upset, right?"

"Not at all. If you guys are going through a custody battle with this guy, it's best to stay away from him." Ashley said as Shane nodded. "I just have to ask, why are you here? It sounds like you should be at home trying to work things out."

"Yeah well she didn't exactly put up much a fight to try and stop me…" He scoffed remembering how Mitchie just let him walk out of their bedroom without protest.

"Well sometimes, Shane, girls don't want to fight. They want to be fought for." Ashley jumped at the sound Shane's hands crashing into the steering wheel. Obviously he wasn't pleased by her words.

"That's just the thing, Ash." He started. "I've fought for Mitchie so many times. I fought Ken just to have her. I fought my dad to keep her. Hell, I even fought her to even begin this freakin' relationship. I'm just…I'm just so tired of fighting,"

Shane was starting to freak himself out. Was he really tired of fighting for Mitchie? What did that even mean? He was honestly a little scared to think too in depth about it.

Ashley placed her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it soothingly. "But you love her Shane. And you love Hayley too. I can tell."

"I do love Hayley, she's my little girl after all but when we were arguing, Mitchie said something that really made me think. She accused me of feeling guilty about our one-night stand. Maybe I don't love her. Maybe its all just guilt."

Ashley's eyes scanned his face. She had never seen her friend so…torn. She knew he loved Mitchie. He had to. Whenever he talked about her, his eyes would light up and he just looked so happy. But now, he had never looked so defeated. She had no problem with Mitchie. She had gotten over that after the whole James Conway fiasco, but she couldn't help but have a little resentment toward her. She was after all the reason Shane was so upset.

Without thinking really, she moved her hand from Shane's shoulder to behind his neck. With her other hand she brought his face closer to hers and pressed her lips against his.

Pushing her away immediately, Shane stared her in bewilderment.

"What the hell, Ashley?" He asked loudly.

"I like you Shane. And not just in the little brother kind of way. I _really_ like you and it sucks seeing you stress yourself out over someone who doesn't make you happy."

"Mitchie does make me happy," Shane said defensively.

"Then why do you look so sad right now?" Shane went silent. She had him on that one. He felt her fingers tugging at the collar of his t-shirt. "Think about it Shane. _I_ make you happy. We always have fun when we're together–"

Shane harshly pushed her hand away and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. "Get out."

"You know as well as I do that you can't live your life without me. I am your oldest friend, Shane. No matter what I do you will always forgive me for it." She said smugly.

Shane's mind instantly flashed back to something Mitchie had said during their argument.

"_I always want so badly to see the good in people…"_

Maybe that's what he was doing with Ashley. She was right. She was his oldest friend and maybe he wanted so badly to believe she could do no wrong.

"Just get out." Shane repeated. This time, with a loud huff Ashley exited his car, slamming the door as she did.

Now, just as how he started the night, Shane was alone.

**\=/**

Mitchie sat on the bed she shared with Shane letting her tears flow freely. It had been a while since she had cried as hard as she was crying now but even if she wanted to, she couldn't stop herself. She wasn't too sure if she was crying because of the argument, because Shane left or just because she was finally coming to the realization that maybe Shane didn't really love her. Hell, she was starting to think maybe she didn't love him either.

"Uncle Nate's home!" Mitchie's head snapped up hearing Nate's voice. She could hear the sound of his footsteps coming toward the room. She quickly wiped her face and tried her best to hide what she was feeling.

"Hey where's Hayley?" Nate asked appearing in the doorway.

"Sleeping." She answered with a sniffle.

Nate nodded, looking her up and down suspiciously. "Where's Shane?"

She really didn't mean to but just hearing Shane's name caused her to once again start crying.

"Mitchie, what's wrong? Is he okay? Nothing bad happened to him, right?" Nate asked worriedly as he walked over to the bed and took a seat next to her. He did his best to comfort her and get her to stop crying so she could answer his questions.

"No, he's fine." She took a deep breath and composed herself. "I mean, I think he's alright now."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We had a fight and he went out to dinner with Ashley. I'm sure she's cheered him up by now."

Nate frowned. "Fight? I'm sure it was nothing. I mean he loves you–"

Mitchie jolted up from the bed and stood in front of Nate, her hands on her hips. "I'm so sick of hearing that!"

"But it's the truth…" Nate's voice was barely above a whisper. He had never seen Mitchie angry so all of this was a shock to him.

"I'm starting to think it's not. I'm starting to think Shane is only tolerating me because we have a child together and I don't want that to be the reason he's with me." Mitchie sighed and sat next to Nate. "Just look at Jason and Danielle. _They're_ in love. Shane and I are nothing like them…"

"You're not gonna solve be able to solve your and Shane's problem if you start comparing yourself to other couples." Nate couldn't help but feel like this was somehow his fault. He didn't want to ask but he was almost sure that the cause of their fight was Mitchie going out with Ken. If he hadn't told Shane, maybe they wouldn't have fought and everything would be all right.

Just as Mitchie opened her mouth to speak, the two of them heard the sound of the front door opening. They both exchanged a glance before leaving the room to see who had just walked in. As they expected, it was Shane. He stood sheepishly in front of them, hands in his pocket and his head bowed.

"I guess this is my cue to leave." Nate said breaking the silence between the three. He nodded in Mitchie's direction as if to remind her of their previous conversation.

Once Nate was gone, both Mitchie and Shane opened their mouths to speak but neither made a sound.

"How was dinner?" Mitchie asked.

Shane sighed. "I wouldn't know. I spent the night parked behind a McDonalds listening to John Mayer." He chuckled slightly before getting a somber look on his face. "I'm not gonna beat around the bush, okay? Are we broken up?"

"Why would you think that?" Mitchie asked surprised. Yeah she knew their fight was bad but she didn't think it was the kind of fight that called for a break up.

"I don't know it just seemed like that fight was it, you know? Like that was the end of our relationship." He avoided making eye contact with her but he could hear her sniffle.

"Do you want it to be the end?" Shane could hear the shakiness in her voice. He shrugged his shoulders to answer her. "Oh. Well maybe it'd be best if I stayed somewhere else while we figure things out?"

A month ago Shane would have been on his knees begging her not to leave but now he just stood there silent. He didn't know whether to agree or disagree. He was completely torn.

"You know, you can still stay here. I can always kick Nate out onto the couch and you can take the guest room." His offer sounded more forced than he wanted it to.

Mitchie shook her head with a painful smile on her face. "If I stay, it'll just complicate things. Hayley can stay here with you and I'll just go stay at the hotel a few blocks away. That way I'll still be close and…"

Shane saw her lip begin to quiver. He knew she wasn't going to be able to hold back her tears much longer. He didn't know if it was such a good idea but he walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her to comfort her. He felt her start to sob and he did his best to soothe her until she pushed him away.

"It's been a while since we've been apart." He said with a sad laugh.

"Maybe the separation is just what we need." Her words were accompanied with a small sniff. "Well, I better go pack some stuff and head to the hotel to get a room."

Shane watched her walk into their bedroom. He wasn't sure if they had broken up but it had sure felt like they were. He knew he couldn't watch her walk out of the door with a suitcase in her hand so he hid out in the guest room.

When he entered the room, Nate hopped up from the guest bed and looked at Shane expectantly.

"She's going to stay at a hotel while we try to work things out." Shane said solemnly.

"What is there to work out? You guys are engaged. This whole thing is silly. You two belong together." Nate said matter-of-factly.

"Do we Nate?" Shane asked. "'Cause I asked myself if I would have stayed in Phoenix with her if Hayley wasn't around. I'm not so sure I would have."

"Excuse my language but that is bullshit. The only reason you stayed was because you wanted to get to know her. You didn't find out about Hayley until afterwards."

"That's just it, man. Do I really know Mitchie? I mean the time we spend alone is either spent arguing, talking about Hayley or making out. Let's not forget she didn't even tell her parents about me until I was ready to propose." Shane shook his head and collapsed on the guest bed. "We don't know each other at all."

Nate groaned loudly. There was no getting through to either one of them. If there was one thing they both had in common, it's that they were both extremely stubborn.

"I'm not saying I don't love her. I'm just saying–" Shane's words were cut short when he heard the sound of the front door shutting. He ran out of the guest room and into his bedroom. Lying on the bed was a small note with the engagement ring he had given Mitchie placed on top.

_I didn't say goodbye because I know I wouldn't have been able to. Whatever happens, I do love you Shane and I can only hope that we'll get through this rough patch._

_- Mitchie._

_P.S. I thought you'd want your ring back._

Shane finished reading the note and sat on the edge of his bed with his shoulders slumped. He didn't hope they'd get through their current rough patch.

He _knew_ they'd get through it. It'd take some time but he had faith they would.

**\=/**

**Eh, I didn't like this chapter too much. There's like two or three more chapters of this story left so everything is kinda wrapping up! Please, PLEASE review. (I can't tell you how sucky it is to only have like 2 reviews. :P)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Oh, and you should go check out my new fic! Here's a link, just add the fanfiction url to the beginning. s/7281719/1/Misguided_Ghosts :]**


	22. Get Through This

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Twenty-One – Get Through This**

"This is nice." Nate said ever so optimistically.

He, Hayley, Shane and Mitchie were sitting inside of the newly built Chick Fil A grabbing some lunch. Nate knew he was just there to help ease the awkwardness between Shane and Mitchie. They had been going through this redundant, uncomfortable routine for a week now. Mitchie would come over before Hayley woke up; they would take Nate and Hayley out for breakfast, go out shopping or something of that nature, go out for lunch, go back out shopping or out to a movie, out for dinner, return home and put Hayley to bed. The little girl thought nothing about this was strange which was exactly what Mitchie and Shane wanted. They didn't want her to think anything was wrong but they didn't want to stay cooped up inside Shane's house together. That would have been just too weird for them. Especially now since it seemed like Mitchie was making the hotel room she had originally rented for just a night home.

"Shut up, Nate." Shane snapped at his younger brother.

"Daddy, can you take me to go play?" Hayley asked her tired looking father. Shane nodded, scooped her up out of her chair and took her inside of the closed off play area inside of the restaurant.

Once they were alone, Nate cleared his throat, getting Mitchie's attention.

"How's the single life treating you?" Nate asked almost sarcastically.

"I'm not single, Nate. You know that." She replied with an eye roll.

"Could've fooled me." He muttered under his breath. "How long exactly do you plan on lying to Hayley? Either you and Shane try to work on your relationship or you guys just need to break up. And, personally, I think you should try the first option."

"Of course you do," Mitchie said with a sigh standing up and walking away from the table and over to the soda fountain to refill her drink. She was really tired of Nate constantly trying to get her and Shane to talk. Sure they had petty little conversations since their huge fight but they hadn't really said anything 'productive' to their relationship. After telling her mom what was going on, though, she planned on talking to Shane soon just as her mom had told her to. She said that she was sure whatever problems Shane and her were having they could get through. And it's always nice to hear something like that coming from your mom.

"Mind filling mine up with Diet Coke?" Shane's voice snapped Mitchie out of her thoughts. She silently took the cup out of his hands and started to fill it with the soda he requested. Securing the lid back on, she shoved the drink back at him and started to walk away when she felt his hand around her wrist, stopping her.

"What, just because Hayley isn't around you can't talk to me?" Shane asked. When she didn't answer, Shane scoffed and released his grip on her. To his surprise, she stayed in place. "Does this mean you'll talk to me?"

"What's there to talk about?" She asked.

"Did you see the Packers take on the Cowboys last night?" He shrugged.

Mitchie could see he was being sincere. He didn't want to fight or make snarky remarks about the way she left or how she returned the engagement ring; he really just wanted to talk.

"You know I don't watch football." She answered, cracking a smile at him.

"Wow, it's been a while since I've seen that smile." He said with a smile of his own. "I've missed it."

"Don't worry, it rarely makes appearances these days." Mitchie took a deep breath preparing to say her next few words. "Do you think you could get Nate to watch Hayley tonight? I want you to come over to my hotel room tonight."

Shane's eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah, definitely. Is around 8 okay? Hayley will be in bed by then so Nate shouldn't have to do too much work."

"8 is perfect." Mitchie said with a nod before walking back to their table.

Shane took a second to comprehend what had just happened. He wasn't exactly sure why she wanted him over but just knowing that he would be in a room alone with her made him happy. Maybe then he could tell her how he felt, what's been on his mind since she left. He had told Jason what all had happened between them and Jason's advice to him was to just tell her how he felt. Seeing as how Jason was in a seemingly perfect marriage, Shane was definitely going to take his advice. He just needed to gather some courage to do so because he knew saying all he had to say wasn't going to be easy.

**\=/**

Shane stood in front of the door marked '284' wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. The feeling he had at the moment was very reminiscent of the way he felt before walking back into that Phoenix bar the night he first saw Mitchie again.

He finally mustered up enough nerve to knock on the door, not caring whatever Mitchie had to say to him.

"Shane," The door swung open and there stood Mitchie. She stepped aside to let him in. He stepped inside and looked around, examining the place. The place was pretty neat and pretty plain. It was by no means a shabby hotel room but it wasn't anything too fancy either. He noticed the suitcase next to the bed and turned to question her about it.

"Did you ever unpack?" He asked.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy but every night I unpack clothes for the next day and every morning I pack everything up like I'm going to leave and go back to your place. I always plan on actually leaving but I always chicken out at the last second." She answered walking over to stand next to him.

"Well at least you wanted to leave. I was at home thinking this is what you wanted; to stay here, away from me." He said taking a seat on the bed.

"Shane, I never _wanted_ to be away from you. I _needed_ to be away from you for at least a couple of days. I had to see if I could live without you." Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

"Could you?" He was almost afraid to ask. She shook her head and he breathed a sigh of relief. "I couldn't live without you either. It felt so…lonely without you."

Mitchie threw up her hands by her sides. "What does that mean for us, though?"

Shane shrugged. "Maybe it means we _are_ in love and we shouldn't have taken this stupid break." He said with a laugh. Mitchie shot him an un-amused glance. "All my opinions about this break aside, why'd you invite me over?"

She took a deep breath and sat down next to him, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers. "All this time that we've spent apart gave me time to think, reflect over our whole relationship and to be honest, besides the fact you knocked me up and didn't speak to me for two years, our relationship's been pretty good."

"I'm still really sorry about that," Shane said with a small laugh. "But is that all? You just wanted to tell me how awesome we are together and that you want to come back home and that we can forget any of this silly drama ever happened?"

"Not exactly," She said slowly. "I mean, yes, I do want to come back home but I realized we barely knew each other when we got together."

"That's not true." He said matter-of-factly.

"Shane, I kept you a secret from my parents, your parents didn't know about me either. You never told me you had a gorgeous girl friend who you are _very_ close to–"

"Why does everything always have to be about Ashley? I mean _you_ were the one who never told me I had a kid and that you had a psychotic fiancé." Shane said more harshly than he had intended to.

"But at least _I'm_ not still friends with Ken after he screwed me over. Ashley keeps sticking her nose into our relationship yet you just keep accepting her most likely fake apologies."

Shane stood up and tried to compose himself. He didn't come over to fight. He came over to get her back, to get their relationship back to normal yet here they were, on the cusp of another huge argument.

"Look, I don't wanna fight, okay?" He said gently.

"And neither do I." She replied. "Remember that day when you, me and Hayley went out for ice cream? And Hayley fell and you went all 'comforting dad' on her and you nearly tickled me to death?"

Shane nodded and smiled remembering that day. "How could I forget? That was one of the most fun days I've ever had. Well, our little furniture shopping adventure at Ikea was a close second. I really miss that red couch."

"Do you know why those were such fun times?" She asked standing up to face him.

"Because there were no vindictive best friends or crazy fiancés," He said with a shrug.

"And we were total focused on each other, no one else."

Suddenly, Shane's face lite up. "Let's go to Hawaii, just you and I."

Mitchie looked at Shane as if he was crazy. "And leave Hayley with Nate again? You know our parenting is ranking pretty low right about now…"

"We don't have to go forever, just a week or so. I know we tried this before but we were here in LA with all these distractions around us. You know what's going to bother us in Hawaii? Absolutely nothing." Shane said grabbing both of her hands in his.

"Have you forgotten that at some point we're supposed to go to court and fight for custody of our kid?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll handle that, just say you'll go to Hawaii with me, please."

Mitchie couldn't believe Shane was actually suggesting this. He could be so impulsive at times. But if there was a possibility that it could help their relationship, how could she say no?

"Okay fine," Her answer caused Shane to lean in a peck her on the cheek. "But you have to promise me that we'll only go after all this custody stuff is solved. I don't want Ken to use that against us in court."

"Listen, don't worry, alright? Let me work my magic and I promise you everything will work out for the better." Shane assured her.

Just as he had always been about the two of them, Shane was sure they could get through this.

**\=/**

**So I know I haven't updated in forever, sorry. I'll try to update quicker next time. Just leave me some awesome reviews and as always, thanks for reading! :]**


	23. Superman

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Twenty-Two – Superman**

A wave of nervousness flowed through Shane as his finger pressed the doorbell to his parents' house. He had called every once in a while to check in a little but since Thanksgiving, he hadn't really 'talked' to his parents. With everything that was going with Mitchie and the craziness of the whole Ken situation, what Shane really needed right now was some parental advice.

"Shane!" The front door swung open and Shane found himself engulfed in his mother's arms. He smiled to himself as he gave her a huge hug back.

"Mom," He greeted as she let him go, holding him at arms-length to get a good look at him.

"It's been way too long since I've seen you." She looked past him out into the driveway at his car. "Are Mitchie and Hayley with you?"

Shane shook his head. "No, it's just me. I needed to talk to you so…"

"Say no more," Shane's mom stepped aside and allowed Shane to come in. He looked out into the living room and didn't see any signs of his dad, which made him take a sigh of relief. He didn't want his dad's usual negative responses making the bad situations he was going through worse.

"So what's going on, Shane?"

Shane watched as his mom pulled out two chairs at the kitchen table and sat in one. Remembering how they used to do the exact same thing whenever he needed to talk, even before he got famous, brought a smile to his face. He sat down and ran his hands over his face.

"Well since you last saw me, I proposed to Mitchie and she said yes, Mitchie's ex-fiancé showed up and slapped a custody case on us, we had some difficult times after that so we kinda broke up and she stayed in a hotel for a while but now she's back at home and we're back together…I think." Shane managed to say all in one breath.

"I-I…Mitchie was engaged before?" Shane smiled at his wide-eyed, confused looking mother.

"I guess I should probably explain," Shane took a deep breath before continuing. "When Mitchie told you how we met, that was the G-rated version. The real story is, I basically hooked up with her that night, knocked her up without knowing I did and when we passed through on the last tour, I met up with her and turns out she had a fiancé named Ken and he treated Mitchie so bad, Mom. Like, he was hitting her and stuff. So I snapped and ended up punching the guy and leaving town with Mitchie and Hayley and now he's back and wants custody of Hayley."

Shane's mom slowly nodded trying to take in all the information her son just told her. When she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out and she ended up just nodding again.

"This is generally the part where you say something, Mom." Shane playfully reminded her.

"I don't know what to say, honey. In the span of five minutes you've told me that you're engaged, your fiancée was previously engaged and her ex is trying to take your daughter, my granddaughter, away. What exactly do you say to that?" She asked dumbfounded.

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "Just tell me everything is going to be alright? Cause Mom, I'm scared. I'm so, _so_ scared. You know when I'm around Mitchie I have to put on this brave face so she can feel assured about things but…what if we lose Hayley? Our relationship is already walking a fragile line. That'd pretty much just be the end of us if that were to happen."

Shane's mom smiled sweetly as she leaned forward and gently placed her lips on his forehead, giving him a small kiss.

"Everything is going to be alright. You and Mitchie are wonderful parents. If that judge doesn't see that and makes the wrong decision, well I'll just have to go in there and straighten things out myself." She said jokingly.

The two of them turned their attention toward the front door upon hearing it open. Shane stood up seeing his dad walk through the door. The elder Gray man took a look at his son before nodding politely in his direction.

"Chris," Shane's mom called out just as he was about to head upstairs. "Shane has some exciting news."

Shane's dad sighed and trudged over to Shane and stood in front of him.

"Um, Mitchie and I are getting married." Shane said with a slight wince just imaging what was going through his dad's head.

"Congrats, kid." His dad said slapping him on the shoulder. "Let me know the date and I'll show up."

"Dad, wait," Shane called out to his father who was turning to leave. He turned back to face Shane, a bored expression on his face

"Look I know what I did, leave the tour, that wasn't the most responsible thing I could have done and you might think it was downright selfish of me but you never once cared to see where I was coming from when I did it. The music, the band, they're important to me but Mitchie's the love of my life, Dad. It's taken a lot for me to realize that but I finally feel confident enough to say it. When the love of your life is hurting, you're going to try to do everything to help take that pain away and that's all I was doing. Mitchie and Hayley weren't safe in Phoenix and I wanted to protect them. No, I _needed_ to protect them. I would've never forgiven myself if I'd left them just to continue some tour. Did it hurt to lose the profits we lost from canceling the tour? Yeah, probably, but I can guarantee it would have hurt me a whole hell of a lot more to lose two people I love dearly."

"Why are you saying all this Shane?"

"Because, Dad, you raised me to be a man and I'm trying to handle all the crap I'm going through like a man but…right now I just need my Dad."

Shane felt lightness once he finished his sentence. He had wanted to say that for so long, it felt good to finally get it all out.

"I'm sorry but I can't help you with the marriage thing," Shane's dad said matter-of-factly. Shane cringed at his dad's words. "Not at least until we help you with the psycho who's trying to take your kid away."

A smile grew on Shane's face. It was nice to have his dad helping him. For the first time, Shane truly felt Ken wouldn't win. He felt like everything was under his control.

**\=/**

Shane and his dad sat in Shane's car parked outside of a local Marriott. After an hour or so of discussion, his dad had convinced him this was a good plan of action to take.

"Are you sure this is where he's staying?" Shane's dad asked.

"Yeah, I found a piece of paper with this address on it on the nightstand by Mitchie's side of the bed. He must have given it to her when they met up." Shane answered as he bit down on his fingernails. He hadn't done that in years. That was just proof of just how uneasy he was about this.

"Well no sense in sitting here. Go in there and handle your business, bud." Shane's dad gave him a encouraging slap on the back. "Do it for your family."

Shane sighed and nodded. He stepped out of the car and walked into the hotel. He was actually really glad Ken gave Mitchie so much information. Not only did he know the hotel but he also knew his room number. He'd think Ken would be a little more discrete since there was always a chance of Shane finding it, which actually happened.

After an elevator ride up to the 4th floor, Shane knocked on the door with the gold number '141' on it. After a few seconds, the door opened and there stood Ken. He looked Shane up and down, a smug smirk on his face.

"Oh hello Shane. To what do I owe this displeasure?"

"I'm here to talk about this whole custody thing." Shane said choosing not to respond to Ken's snide comment.

Ken stood at the door, obviously with no intent to let Shane inside, with a curious expression.

"Go ahead and talk," He instructed.

"Listen, this is just stupid. I'm not sure what your reason for doing this is, if you really want to care for Hayley or if you're just trying to get Mitchie back or whatever but this has to end."

"What makes you think I'm going to drop this just because you asked me to? Your little pop star charm may have worked on Mitchie but its not going to work on me. I'm not just going to do whatever you say because you're Shane Gray."

"You know, you're right. I can't make you do anything but I had to try. All I wanted you to know is if you really love Mitchie like you say you do, you wouldn't be doing this because this whole situation, this custody crap, it's just hurting her. You don't hurt the ones you love."

When Ken said nothing, Shane took this opportunity to speak again.

"I think there's no such thing as bad people, just good people who make bad choices. And it's never too late to start correcting those bad choices."

Shane knew his words were probably falling on deaf ears but it really didn't matter. He had to at least try to get through to Ken. If Ken still wanted to take them to court, he could live with that. But he couldn't live with not knowing if he could have done something to avoid that.

Now, though, everything was out of Shane's hands. Ken was going to do whatever he wanted, no matter what Shane said.

**\=/**

Hayley sat at the kitchen table scowling at the pile of peas on her plate, her tiny arms folded over her chest. Mitchie, who was sitting in the chair next to her, couldn't help but smile.

"You're not leaving this table until you eat your peas, young lady." Mitchie said trying to sound as stern as possible even though she really didn't have a mean bone in her body when it came to Hayley.

In the midst of the 'peas-war' with Hayley and Mitchie, Shane came walking through the door, a huge smile on his face.

"Daddy!" Hayley exclaimed jumping out of the chair and running over to hug Shane.

"Shane, can you please get your daughter to eat her peas?" Mitchie asked walking over to him. She stopped in her tracks seeing the older man walking in behind Shane. Never did she think she'd see Shane's dad in her presence, let alone with a smile on his face.

"Hey there, Mitchie." Shane's dad greeted her with a small wave. She politely waved back before giving Shane the 'we-need-to-talk' look.

Shane ignored the look Mitchie was giving him and instead walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her and embraced her in a huge hug.

"Say you love me," Shane instructed putting her back down on her own two feet.

"What?" Mitchie asked completely overwhelmed. She didn't understand why Shane's dad was in their living room and why Shane was so happy.

"Tell me you love me and that I'm the most awesome fiancé ever in the history of fiancés."

"Um, Shane," Shane's dad interjected their conversation. "Take her in another room and talk. I'll watch the kid."

Shane nodded and grabbed Mitchie's hand and quickly dragged her into their bedroom.

"Shane!" Mitchie held her hands up in front of her, stopping Shane from once again hugging her. "What the heck is going on? Why is your dad here and why are you so excited?"

"My dad's here because he wants you to give him a second chance. He wants to prove he isn't some horrible person who hates you. And I'm so excited because your wonderful husband-to-be went to talk to your former husband-to-be–"

"Wait you talked to Ken?" She interrupted.

"Yes and I told him to drop the custody case." He stated proudly. "And after I talked to him a bit, he agreed to drop it!"

Mitchie slowly sat on their bed. She was doing her best to take all this information in. It was as if she had entered the Twilight Zone. First the man who she was 100% sure despised her now wanted to show her that he actually doesn't hate her and now Ken, probably the most vengeful person she had ever known was now agreeing to drop the custody case he had filed just to get revenge on her for leaving him?

"Shane," She called his name breathlessly. "You really are my knight in shining armor. Just when I think you can't do anything to show me how amazing you are, you go and do something like this."

Seeing how she was starting to tear up, Shane sat next to Mitchie, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She rested her head on his shoulder and the two sat in silence before Shane spoke up.

"Mitchie, I'm not half as amazing as you are. You are probably the strongest, most intelligent person I know." Shane complimented. "Plus you're really hot and that's just, like, an added bonus."

Mitchie playfully slapped his chest before standing up from the bed and walking to stand in front of him.

"So where do we go from here?" She asked.

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "I did kind of promise you a trip to Hawaii so let's say we have dinner with my dad tonight and tomorrow we'll get ready to take off to Hawaii. We'll even take Hayley. I know I said it'd be just the two of us but I'm in the 'family-vacation' mood."

Mitchie smiled and nodded, silently agreeing with Shane's suggestion. Her mom had always told her that when it came to finding the man she loved, if he didn't make her feel like a princess then he obviously wasn't her prince charming. Not only did Shane make her feel like a princess, but he kind of made her feel like Lois Lane and that could only mean that he was her Superman. Shane was much more than just her fiancé or her knight in shining armor or even her prince charming. Shane was her Superman. And with her Superman by her side, Mitchie felt nearly invincible.

**\=/**

**Yes, I know I suck at updating. I have no excuse except I'm extremely lazy. Haha. Anyways, leave me some awesome reviews please!**

**Thanks for reading! (Review!)**


	24. Endlessly

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters. I don't own the song "Endlessly" either. The Cab does. Congrats to them!**

**Arizona**

**\=/**

**Chapter Twenty-Three – Endlessly**

Shane rested his elbows on the kitchen counter of the beach house he had rented and read over the newspaper he held in his hands. He, Mitchie, Hayley, and Nate had been in Hawaii for about three days and so far, it had been a fun trip. Although, he was beginning to regret letting Nate tag along. There was just something about having your little brother around you constantly that took some of the romanticism out of the vacation. Though he did come in handy when he and Mitchie needed some alone time and they needed someone to look after Hayley.

"Morning," Shane looked up from his newspaper and a smile instantly appeared on his lips as he saw Mitchie coming toward him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He shook his head and set his newspaper down. "You look exceptionally beautiful today. I'm really loving what you're doing with your hair."

"I haven't done anything to it. My hair is a product of ocean water, air drying and a general lack of upkeep." She said as she stood next to him, grabbing the newspaper from off of the counter.

"Well whatever's the reason for it, I think you look amazing," He walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on top of her head. "Oh, and you smell good too."

"Well at least I know I'm appealing to two out of the five senses." She said with a laugh.

"I love the way your voice sounds when you speak and your skin feels flawless." Shane said spinning her around to face him. "Now, that takes care of sound and touch. How's about you give me a kiss and I'll tell you how you taste?"

Mitchie gave him a coy smile before hoping up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. The two stayed attached at the lips, kissing each other passionately before they heard someone clear their throat behind them.

"Come on guys, in the kitchen? We eat there!" Nate commented as Shane and Mitchie broke away from each other. "Hayley, I'm sorry your parents aren't very hygienic."

Hayley, who was next to Nate holding his hand, giggled at his words.

"Hayley should see that affection between two people who love each other is completely normal." Shane said in defense of their actions.

"Affection? Is that what you call what you two just did there? Because the way I see it, it looked as if you were trying to inspect her tonsils with your tongue and I'm no doctor but I just don't think that's how its supposed to be done."

Shane gave Nate an irritated looked which prompted the younger Gray to try and change the subject.

"Um, so Hayley and I were gonna go pick up some breakfast and then head down to the beach. Are you two going to join us or would you rather stay here and play doctor some more?" Nate asked mockingly.

"Very funny Nate but I think I'm done with the beach. At least for a few days." Mitchie commented looking at Shane for his response.

"Yeah, me too but you know, you guys have fun!"

Nate shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to leave with Hayley. Once they were gone, Shane and Mitchie looked at each other once more.

"So what are we going to do here all alone?" Mitchie asked, a hint of flirtation in her voice.

Shane thought for a moment before his face lit up as he got an idea.

"Let's call our parents." Mitchie looked at him utterly confused.

"We have the house to ourselves and you want to call our parents?" She tried to clarify.

"Maybe I should explain further," Shane said. "We're engaged and we're in Hawaii. This place is beautiful. You're beautiful. I don't want to wait any longer to call you my wife. Let's call our parents, fly them out here and get married tomorrow."

Mitchie shook her head, a smirk on her face. "You're doing it again, Shane. You know sometimes you're just so impulsive…"

"Baby, listen," Shane grabbed both of her hands in his. "If we wait to get married, it might take forever because when we get back to L.A. I have to go back in the studio and get back to work and the label is going to kill me if I take anymore time off and…this just seems like our window of opportunity."

"I'd rather wait forever and have everything be perfect than to get married just because 'its our window of opportunity." Mitchie explained, mocking him. "Plus, I've been planning my wedding ever since I was like twelve. You can't expect me to let all that go just because you're so eager to get hitched."

Shane could see where she was coming from. Mitchie was a girl and girls felt differently about weddings than boys did. He knew she probably had a place, a time and a dress picked out from years ago. He couldn't just ask her to give all that up.

"Alright, lets compromise. You don't have to give up your dream wedding. We'll just get legally married tomorrow and then we'll have a big ceremony when we get back to L.A."

Mitchie pondered his idea for a few seconds. "Do we have to our ceremony in L.A.?"

"We could have it in Timbuktu for all I care." Shane said with a laugh. "Just tell me, are you up for a legal marriage tomorrow?"

Once again, Mitchie took some time to think. It seemed like a fair enough compromise. Her family would still be present and its not like she herself wasn't anxious to just go ahead and marry Shan already. After some semi-deep thought, she really didn't see any major flaws in his plan.

"Okay, but I have one request!" Shane nodded his head, already agreeing to whatever she was about to say. "We can't do it tomorrow."

Shane sighed and groaned. "Why not?"

"My parents have never met your parents. Don't you think it'd be better if they could at least spend a day to get to know each other?"

Shane shrugged. She was right. It would be stupid to just throw their parents in a room together and watch their kids get married to one another.

"Fine but the day after tomorrow, we'll do it okay?" Mitchie nodded at Shane's question. "Great! Now, you go call your parents and tell them they'll be in Hawaii tomorrow. I'll go call mine and then we'll be one step closer to being Mr. and Mrs. Shane Gray."

Shane gave her one last peck on the lips before running off into their bedroom. She had to admit, even though he could be a little foolishly impulsive at times, it was pretty darn adorable whenever he was.

**\=/**

Mitchie nervously paced back and forth in the beach house living room, biting her nails as she did. Her parents, who had now arrived, sat on the small couch, watching their daughter in amusement.

"Jess and Chris, their names are Jess and Chris. Got it?" Mitchie reminded her parents. Ever since she picked them up from the airport she had been reviewing various important details about Shane's parents that she didn't want them to forget.

"Honey, we got it the first fifteen times you said it." Her father griped causing her to stop her pacing, only for a moment. "Will you just relax?"

Mitchie looked at him, almost insulted. "How can I relax when my parents are about to meet my fiancé's parents? I mean I just want you guys to make the best impression you can and trust me these people aren't easy to impress. They _just_ stopped hating me."

"Mitchie, you don't need to worry about what they think of us. All you need to be worried about is your wedding tomorrow."

Mitchie knew her mother was right. She was pleasantly surprised at how her parents seemed just fine with the idea of her getting married on a whim but then again, after hearing how Ken treated her, she guessed they were just happy she was with someone who truly loved her.

"Oh gosh," The sound of the front door opening once again paused her pacing. "They're here."

It wasn't long before the sound of tiny footsteps was heard and Hayley came running in, arms opened to hug Mitchie.

"Mommy!" The little girl exclaimed not noticing the two people seated on the couch. When she finally did notice them, she ran up and sat herself right between them. "Grandma and grandpa!"

Shane waited a few seconds before handling some introductions. "Um, mom, dad, this is Connie and Daniel, Mitchie's folks."

Shane's parents walked over to the other couple, exchanging polite handshakes. Mitchie looked on nervously, as if she was waiting from something, or someone, to suddenly implode.

"Nice finally meeting you two. Shane's told us quite a lot about you." Shane's father commented.

"He has?" Mitchie questioned, glancing over to Shane.

"Yeah, he has. Chris, you're a golfing man?" Shane's dad asked Mitchie's dad.

"Sure am. In fact, I beat your son here a while back."

"Ha, Shane told me about that. Maybe the two of us should go play a round sometime."

"There are plenty of courses around here. You guys could go today if you wanted." Shane interjected the two older men's conversation.

Seeing that everything was actually going well between their parents, Mitchie decided it was time to give the four some time alone. She was sure they didn't want to talk with Shane and herself hovering over them.

"Uh, Hayley are you hungry?" The little girl nodded at Mitchie's questions. "Well come with me and Daddy and I will make you a PB&J sandwich!"

Shane glanced at Mitchie questioningly, not bothering to follow the two girls into the kitchen.

"Shane, I'm gonna need some help opening the jar of peanut butter," Mitchie said in an obvious warning tone.

Shane, getting the message that he was needed, sighed and followed them into the kitchen.

He walked over to the cupboard, pulled out the jar of peanut butter, opened it and handed it to Mitchie.

"Happy?" He asked sarcastically. The look she gave him caused him to swallow his words. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to stay in there with our folks."

"No Shane, we have to give them some time away from us to really talk to each other." She explained preparing Hayley's sandwich. "Besides, you and Nate should go buy something nice to wear tomorrow."

"I thought we were going Hawaiian casual?" Shane asked confusedly.

"That doesn't mean you have to look like a bum," Mitchie screwed the lid onto the peanut butter jar and gently shoved it in Shane's chest. "I won't say 'I do' if you look like a bum."

Shane groaned and placed the peanut butter back in the cupboard.

"Well if we're setting ultimatums for saying our 'I do's, I won't say it unless you–"

"Shane," Mitchie interrupted. "Whatever you're about to say, don't. Just quit while you're ahead."

Shane rolled his eyes but nevertheless took her advice. He didn't want to say something stupid and end up ending their marriage before it even began. Now all he had to do was to make himself look 'un-bum like' so there would even be a marriage to begin with.

**\=/**

"Nate, are you sure I look okay?"

"For the millionth time Shane, you look fine."

Shane looked at himself once more in the full-length mirror in the room of the hotel that he and Mitchie were just minutes away from getting married in. They had found an ordained minister here in Hawaii that specialized in spur of the moment marriages like theirs. But with all of the important details like that taken care of, Shane still found himself sweating the small stuff.

"Knock, knock," Shane and Nate both turned to the cracked open door. They relaxed seeing it was just their dad. "I just came to see how you were doing. Things are supposed to get started in a few minutes so,"

Shane faced his dad, worry all over his face. "A few minutes? You mean in a few minutes I'm supposed to get married while wearing a silk tropical shirt, cargo shorts and flip flops?"

Shane's dad laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Son, you're getting married to the girl you love, right?" Shane nodded. "Then it shouldn't matter what you're wearing or how long until it happens, as long as it happens, right?"

"You're right." Shane took a calming breath and walked to the door, placing his hand on the knob. "Alright, let's go marry me off."

Nate and the boys' dad followed Shane out into the small reception room. There were plenty of chairs but only four, five counting Hayley, would end up being filled. Shane's dad took his seat next to his wife while Nate accompanied Shane up at the altar. Shane politely nodded to the minister before looking out to the entrance, just waiting to see his bride-to-be.

When the music began to play, Shane swore his stomach was going to fall out of his butt. He could sing in front of thousands of screaming girls, bare his soul in tell-all interviews but right now, standing, waiting for one woman to meet him at this altar, he had never been more nervous in his life.

"Wow," Shane couldn't keep his thoughts to himself as he finally spotted Mitchie being escorted down the aisle by her father. Since they were keeping everything casual, she was wearing a tropical style dress, one that nearly matched his shirt, and sandals but with her beach-wavy hair and sun kissed skin, she looked perfect to him.

"Hi," Mitchie whispered to him with a smile as she finally stood in front of him.

The minister cleared his throat before speaking. "So since this was a spur of the moment type deal, I'm assuming you guys don't have any of your own vows, correct?"

Shane's face lit up and his dug into his shorts' pocket. "Um, I actually wrote a little poem, well it's actually a song but for now let's just call it a poem."

"Alright, go ahead and recite it!"

With the minister's approval Shane took a deep breath and read the words he had scribbled on the paper just last night.

"Mitchie, we've been through a lot and I just want you to know something. There's no guarantee that this will be easy. Yeah, I'm no angel. I'm just me. I may not be perfect, but I'm perfect for you. Trust me when I say, I will love you endlessly." Shane folded the paper and placed it back in his pocket. He smiled and lifted his hand up to wipe the lone tear that was trickling down Mitchie's cheek.

"Well, that was lovely." The minister remarked. "So, now I have to ask, Shane Gray, do you take this woman to be your wife?"

"I absolutely do."

"And Mitchie Torres, do you take this man to be your husband?"

"I absolutely do."

"Well then I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss–"

Shane didn't even wait for the minister to complete his sentence before placing his lips on top of Mitchie's. They had kissed many times but there was nothing like the feeling he got knowing that he wasn't kissing Mitchie Torres, he was kissing Mitchie _Gray_.

"This is just adorable!" Nate yelled, walking up to the two, breaking them apart. "Now, is this the part where we have cake?"

"Cake?" Hayley repeated from her seat on Mitchie's mom's lap.

"Of course we can have cake!" Shane announced, wrapping his arm around Mitchie's waist, pulling her closer to him. "We can have whatever we want because Mitchie and I are married now!"

The newlyweds watched as everyone exited the room and headed for the reception room that held the 'after-wedding' food.

"Shane," Mitchie called his name, differently now knowing that he was her husband. "Loving me endlessly? You've set a pretty high standard for yourself."

"Mitchie, we've been through hell and back. After all the crazy stuff we've been through, do you really think I'd ever, _ever_ stop loving you?" Shane asked with a warm smile.

"I love you, Shane."

"I love you too, Mitchie."

**THE END.**

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**Aw! How sad! It's over! Well, I'm really proud of this story. I hope you guys liked it as much as I did (at times) and leave me some really nice reviews!**

**I'll eventually update my other stories, 'Misguided Ghosts' and 'The Story of Us' and I have another fic that's super different than what I'm used to writing waiting to be posted once those are finished (unless you guys want it early or whatever) so, look out for that!**

**Thanks so much for reading! :)**


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